The Mischievous Warriors
by Chicken Ranger
Summary: *Sequel to Of Space, Sky and Time* Takes place after the Cell Saga. Trunks, Goten and his twin sister (OC) are the warrior's children and being raised as one. Will the three little warriors able to protect the Earth?
1. 01: The Three Little Squirts

**The Mischievous Warriors**

 _Summary: * **Sequel to Of Space, Sky and Time*** Takes place after the Cell Saga. Trunks, Goten and his twin sister are the warrior's children and being raised as one. Will the three little warriors able to protect the Earth?_

 _AN: Regarding Tenten's name, I have it explained on the fourth chapter of 'Of Space, Sky & Time'. But I'll make another explanation on why I chose the name. Her name has something to do with the concept of the whole stories. I want to make some connection between Goku and her name. _

_Goku (_ _悟空) -_ _空 (kong) means space or sky._

 _Goten (_ _悟天) -_ _天 (tian) means sky._

 _I chose her name Tenten (_ _天天) not only because she's Goten's twins (and it's also cuter to have twins that had some rhythm on their names) but because of Goku's wish for her to stand on everything she faced, to keep looking forward before finally free from her past. Like the bird that fell numerous time before finally soar to the sky. That's why I made him call the twins little birds the whole series._

 _I am fully aware some people wouldn't like my choice. However, I still wanted you guys to enjoy my writings for what it is and help me improve._

 ** _Disclaimer: Dragon Ball © Akira Toriyama, Shuheisha, Inc._**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 1: The Three Little Squirts_**

* * *

 _After the attack of yet another enemy, the warriors were once again saved the Earth. But of course, people would always be people… And no sooner did they get used to peace and they begin to misbehave._

 _Years after the battle with Cell, Mr. Satan was hailed as the hero of the Earth. A believe that happened to be wrong._

 _The true heroes that saved the Earth however, didn't care about it and continue on living their peaceful time._

* * *

Two months after the Cell game, Bulma brought Trunks along with her and visited the Son family in their house. She had both Gohan and Chichi in her mind while driving her plane – wondering whether or not they still cowered over Goku's death. Even though Gohan seemed to be a very responsible son that would help his mother looking after his sibling, taking care of the three kids as a single mother might be too much, even though Chichi was a woman with strong fortitude. She was lucky enough to have her mother helping her taking care of Trunks while she was busy with her work and Trunks in the present timeline still had his father around, unlike the twins who were going to grew up without remembering their father.

Bulma sighed and threw a glance at her son. "You're one lucky boy you know."

The baby boy just made a cute "Ou?" while nibbling his little fist, making Bulma chuckled.

The more Bulma think about the situation, the more she thought that she was luckier than the Son family while they were the one who sacrificed more than she was. She was lucky she still had Vegeta alive after a fierce battle with Cell. But Son's family lost Goku and they had to look for the way to earn money without having to depend on Ox King.

She took her baby from his seat and emerged from the plane before turning it back into capsule form. She trekked to the small hut and knocked on the door. Chichi open the door and grinned from ear to ear when she saw Bulma visited her.

"Oh, what a surprise Bulma!" She gave a hug to the blue haired scientist before gently caressing the baby boy in her arms. "And hello to you too, little boy."

She let Bulma entered her house and headed to the kitchen to prepare tea for them. She back with a tray with the tea set on top of it. She settled in her seat after pouring the tea into two empty cups she brought along.

"So… What brought you here, Bulma? It's been a while, isn't it?"

"Yeah, true. Time flies so fast, right?" Bulma didn't want to immediately bring up the subject, so she started with the basic greeting. "How are you doing, Chichi? Where's Gohan and the twins anyway?"

"I'm doing good. Gohan is studying upstairs. The twins grew up so fast and able to stand on their own feet now," she said.

"Trunks is able to walk now, right baby? Show it to Chichi-san," she said as she put her baby down. Baby Trunks holding on the table while slowly walked alongside the table.

Chichi was clapping her hand at the sight. "That's great Trunks! It wouldn't be long until you're flying like the other."

"Yeah, I believe Vegeta would start his training in two or three years."

Chichi paused at the mention of the father's name. "Yeah, they were warrior's children alright…" She trailed off and looking down to the ground.

Bulma felt slightly guilty for bringing up her husband's name. Chichi must be feeling bad for the twins to grow without ever knowing about their father. She put her hand over Chichi's and said, "Actually Chichi, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"What is it, Bulma?"

"Your family had done so many things for this world yet you gained nothing out of it."

"Well, what can we do about that?" Chichi slightly laughed at this to cover her shaking voice.

"That's why I want to talk to you." Bulma took a deep breath and continue, "I want to support your family financially. Monthly expenses, kids school, and other things. I think this is what I could do to repay what Son had done for us."

Chichi gawked at this; she couldn't utter a word for a while until she was out from reverie and shook her head. "That's a generous offer, Bulma. But I don't think I can accept–"

"This is the least I can do, Chichi," she cut her, "Money means nothing if your husband didn't save us. It'll be especially hard for you to raise the kids without their father. That's why I want to do everything I could for your family."

Chichi's eyes fell to the ground and scowled. Hearing no respond from her, Bulma continued again, "Son is an old friend of mine. Please let me do it for him… Okay?" She pleaded.

Chichi faintly smiled at her and put her other hand over Bulma's. "You're such a good friend, Bulma. Thank you so much."

Bulma pulled her into an embrace. "I want you to be strong for the kids, Chichi. Of all people I know how it feels to have a warrior husband, Saiyan specifically…"

Chichi chuckled and raised her head a little. "Oh gosh, I hate to have my kids fighting…"

Bulma shrugged. "Well, what we can do about it? It's in their blood. Right, son?" she said as she glanced at her baby boy.

Baby Trunks responded her with a brief "Ou".

Chichi approached baby Trunks and lifted him. "Do you want to meet your friends, little boy?" she asked.

Baby Trunks was happily flailing his arm around. Chichi lifted her eyebrows at this and said, "Well, I guess you do."

Chichi carried him to the baby room, followed by Bulma. She saw her babies jumping around at the sight of their mother. "Hey there little birds, I bring a friend for you two," Chichi said as she put Trunks on the floor, proceeding to take the twins out from their cribs.

The three babies were playing peacefully while Bulma and Chichi chattering about their life after the Cell's Game. Goten was playing with his car doll when Trunks took it. Goten was making a protesting noise to take the toy back from him but Trunks took it farther from his reach. Tenten took the toy from his hand and returned it to Goten. Trunks scowled and pinched Tenten's cheek when Tenten slapped his hand away and slapped his head. The babies were talking in baby language as if they were arguing. Goten finally crying because he didn't like to see the two fighting, and as contagious as it seems, Trunks and Tenten followed.

Bulma and Chichi immediately approached them and rocking the baby until they stopped crying. "Why are you three crying?" Chichi asked.

Goten pointed at Trunks, Trunks pointed at Tenten and Tenten slapped Trunks.

"Hey, Tenten! Play nice!" Chichi took her hand and lightly slapped her hand. And Tenten was crying after that, followed by Goten.

Bulma shook her head, "Oh gosh… I couldn't imagine the day when they finally able to speak."

"Me neither, Bulma…"

* * *

Three years later, Bulma decided to pay a visit to the Son's family house. It had been a while since she made her last visit because she was busy with her works. She still called Chichi to exchanged news about their recent life, but she couldn't wait to see them after three years. She brought the four-years-old Trunks with her. Her boy was born with Saiyan blood flowing through his system, making him stronger than any ordinary kids. She was home-schooling him because it was going to be hard for him to blend with the ordinary kids, thus making the boy didn't have any friend around his age.

It would take a while until Trunks understand that he was an extraordinary boy, but at the same time, she didn't want him to grow up friendless. That was why she decided to bring him to meet the only friends that could match his power until he able to control himself, and that friend she meant was none other than Goku's children, specifically the twins. She was honestly feeling thankful that Goku had kids that were around Trunks' age. This way, her son wouldn't have to grow up in his extraordinary condition all alone.

She glanced at her baby boy, who had been making whooshing sound with his mouth while flying his plane model around with his hand. Her son was showing his interest in vehicles and machinery, thus assuring her that she wouldn't have to worry about her future successor this way. But as much as he loved flying his plane, he was going to fly faster than any kind of plane in this world in no time. Bulma was proud of her little boy. He inherited her father's lavender hair and her mother's blue eyes – the traits that absolutely defied that of the original Saiyan, however his power and his face similarity with Vegeta silently stating the fact that he was indeed Vegeta's son, and hers.

"Trunks, do you remember Goten and Tenten?" she asked him.

Trunks shook his head. "No Mom, are they strong?"

Bulma quirked her lips at his blunt question, noticing the arrogance tone in his sentence. She totally forgot that her son in the present timeline was as cocky as his father did, unlike the future Trunks who lacked the arrogance and very caring. The present Trunks was a lot luckier than the future Trunks because he had the luxury of growing up with his father around and in a peaceful environment. How she missed her future son… She hoped that he would take after his future counterpart's personality.

"Well, I assure you they're going to be strong in the future," she said.

Trunks pursed his lips and nodded uninterestedly. She smirked at this, knowing that it wouldn't be long until he loved his new friends.

They reached the Son's family residence three hours later. When they emerged from the plane, Trunks was looking at his surroundings with an interested expression. Being in Mount Paozu was a new experience for him since the environment was totally the opposite of the West City. He could clearly hear the birds' melodious chirping here while he heard none but the city hustle bustle back in his place. There were neither tall buildings nor cars sighted. There were no dazing car honking nor people's chatters heard. They were approaching the half-sphere shaped white hut that was located at the foot of a forest near the mountain. Bulma subtly knocked the door and saw Chichi ecstatically welcomed her. She was donning a yellow _cheongsam_ dress and had her hair tied into a sleek bun.

Gohan came not long after that and greeted both Bulma and Trunks. The little boy gleamed with excitement when he saw Gohan. "Gohan-san!" He threw his little arms around his legs.

"Hello Trunks, how are you doing?" He greeted him while patting the lavender haired boy's head. Gohan had been Trunks' only playmate and Trunks admired him so much. Trunks didn't have any sibling, he always looked Gohan as his own older brother.

"Gohan-san, what are we going to play today?" he asked.

He bent his body down to his level and put his hands on his shoulders and said, "I want you to meet my siblings before that, Trunks."

Trunks recalled his mother mentioned about two names. "Oh did you mean this Goten and Tenten?"

Gohan smiled and nodded. "Yes, do you remember them?"

He shook his head. "Nope."

"Well, you're going to see them anyway. Here, come with me," he said as he pulled Trunks' hand and headed upstairs.

He opened a door and sat behind it were a girl and a boy. They were taking turns reading a storybook aloud. The boy has a spiky black hair and his face looks similar with Gohan while the girl looks like her mother with a straight black hair. Both of them had a pair of curious black eyes.

"So… the Ash Lady…" the boy read aloud.

"Nope, Goten. It should be read as Cinderella," the girl said.

"Oh yeah, I keep forgetting about that. Thanks, Tenten." He laughed while scratching his head.

"Goten, Tenten! Come here for a sec! I want you two to meet Trunks." Gohan pushed Trunks forward and put both of his hand on his shoulders.

The twins immediately looked up from their book and studied the new boy before them. Goten cheerfully approached Trunks while Tenten quirked her eyes at him.

"Yay! A new friend!" Goten gleefully said.

"Well, he isn't exactly your new friend, Goten. You have met him as a baby," Gohan said.

"Really? I don't remember him at all." He scratching his neck and furrowed his eyebrows while trying to recall his face.

"Well, consider this as your first meeting then," Gohan told him.

"Okay, Brother. I'm Goten!" He extended his hand to shake Trunks' hand.

"Trunks. Good to see you." Trunks replied as he accepted his hand.

"Hey! Are you strong? Do you want to play fight?"

Trunks smirked and proudly put his hands on his waist. "Try me, Goten!"

They were preparing themselves to charge at each other when Gohan intercept them, holding both of their heads with his hands. "Hey hey! No play fight! I want you to know each other first."

"But we can get to know each other by fighting." Trunks defended.

"You can do that next time, okay Trunks? Now… Tenten, come here and introduce yourself," he called his sister.

"But you have told him my name, Brother." She replied.

"You have to properly introduce yourself, now come!" He waved his hand towards his direction, beckoning her to come.

Tenten sighed and walked towards Trunks. "It's nice to see you Trunks. I'm Tenten," she said as she extended her arm. While her mother asked her to keep her manner, she vaguely remembered she didn't have a pleasant memory of this boy. She couldn't recall what had happened though.

Trunks glanced at her hand before looking at her hand. Unlike her friendly looking brother, she looks wiseacre and vicious. Even though he had to admit she was cute, but still, she was a girl, and he disliked the supposedly weak creature. That aside, meeting a girl around his age for the first time was actually… making him shy. But he wasn't going to show it to her.

"I don't need to get familiar with a girl," he bluntly said.

Gohan was shocked while Goten's expression remained indifferent because he didn't understand what was going on. Gohan was throwing a glance at his sister, but noticed she was looking disinterestedly at Trunks despite hearing his rude response.

"Why so?" she curtly asked.

"Because girls are weak. I don't think you can catch up with my power." Trunks responded while cockily folding his arms and looked away from her.

"Trunks, that's not a good thing to say!" Gohan reprimanded.

Tenten scowled at him while irefully quirked her lips. "Fine. Bye," she said as she stomped her way to leave the room.

Gohan put his hand on her shoulder to keep her from leaving. "Hey, I want all of you to play nice, okay? Trunks, you have to apologize to Tenten."

Trunks was about to protest when Gohan pointed his finger. "Apologize."

Trunks tightened his lips in aggravation while briefly said, "Sorry."

Tenten looked away, not responding him.

Gohan sighed. "Tenten, what do you say when somebody apologizes to you?"

"Unforgivable."

Gohan sighed again. "Tenten," he pressed his tone.

"I forgive you," she quickly corrected her sentence.

"Now shake hands," Gohan commanded.

They were looking disbelievingly at Gohan and opened their mouth to protest when Gohan utilized his dominance as the older guy. "I don't want to hear any protests."

They were pouting while throwing a piercing glare to one another, but they were following Gohan's command to shook their hands.

"Okay, I'll leave three of you. Play nice, okay?" Gohan said before leaving the room and closed the door behind him.

Trunks and Tenten were exchanging hateful glances once again before looking away in vexation. Goten, who wasn't aware of the awkwardness between them gleefully said, "Wanna play doctors?"

Trunks and Goten were playing as doctors while Tenten became a nurse. Even during the play, Trunks and Tenten refused to talk to each other. They were gathering all the dolls inside the room to be the patient.

Trunks roughly took a princess doll as his next patient. Tenten startled when she saw which doll he was taking and said, "Hey, be careful with that one! It's my favorite!"

He glanced at her before smirking evilly. He put his stethoscope on the doll's chest and said. "Dr. Goten, I think this patient suffer cancer. We have to do chemo immediately to save her life." He said.

"Yeah, we have to save her!" Goten pumped his fist.

"So we have to shave her head since she supposed to be bald."

Tenten widened her eyes at this.

"Okay, I'll get us a scissor!" Goten replied.

"Hey! Stop it!" Tenten said while approaching Trunks to take her doll back. Trunks, being a taller boy than she was, utilized his advantage in height and lifted the doll out from her reach.

"Oh, too bad she has to lose her beautiful hair," Trunks dramatically said when Goten back with the scissor on his hand. Tenten pushed Trunks down and snatched her doll from his hand.

"Give it back, Tenten!" Trunks said as he chased after her. She was slamming the door open and running away from the boys.

"Tenten! Don't run away!" Goten shouted as he chased after his twin.

They were cornering Tenten and tried to snatch her doll from her hand.

"Leave me alone! Don't touch my doll!" she screamed.

"We won't leave until you give us your doll!" Trunks said as he extended his arm to grabbed the doll.

Tenten was beyond furious. The wind was spiraling around her as she extended her arm and screamed, "LEAVE ME ALONE!" A blue barrier appeared on her hand and blasted the two boys away from her. The wave caused the windows shattered and alerting Bulma, Chichi and Gohan, who were having tea time in the guest room.

"W-what's going on upstairs!?" Chichi was screaming from downstairs and immediately run upstairs to check the children.

Tenten was heaving and widened her eyes disbelievingly at the event that just occurred.

Chichi was checking her body for any injury and glad when she found none. She put her hand on her daughter's cheeks and asked her, "Baby, what's happening?"

Tenten was confusedly looking at her mother and stammered, "A… a blue barrier."

"What barrier, baby?" She asked.

"There's a blue barrier… appeared before me," she explained.

Bulma clamped her mouth and alternatively looking at Gohan and Chichi. "D-don't tell me she…"

Gohan took a deep breath and smiled at her. "Don't worry Tenten. It's your power."

She glanced at her brother. "M-my power? W-will it harm people!?"

Gohan shook his head. "Of course not. It's a power to protect people."

Tenten didn't look satisfied with his answer, she instead was looking down. "B-but, I just…"

"What is it, Tenten?" Bulma bent her body a little to ask her.

Tenten pointed at the wall across them. They followed the direction she pointed at and bulge their eyes when they saw two holes that perfectly traced Trunks and Goten's bodies.

"I blow them away…" she explained.

* * *

To Tenten's satisfactory, the two boys were getting scolded after the mothers heard what happened. The two were getting bandage all over their bodies, but the mothers were convinced they would be getting better in several days. But Tenten couldn't move much because of the power she suddenly released, so she was resting on her bed.

Bulma told Trunks to apologize to Tenten before they're leaving home, so Trunks headed towards her room and saw her lounging her back on her pillow, reading a book. She looked up when she sensed somebody on her door and immediately scowled when she saw him.

"Oh, it's you. What do you want?"

He was drawing circles with his foot as he searched for words to apologize to her. "Err… well. You see…" He looked up and noticed her disgusted look. "I'm sorry…" He finally said, "For calling you weak, and… chasing after you to shave your doll."

"Yeah you should," she curtly replied and returned with her book.

"Tenten."

She glanced at him again and saw him a little flustered. "What else?"

"You're not weak… at all. I'm (he gulped) taking back my words."

She gaped at him, wondering what made him change so quickly.

"I hope… You don't… hate me," he trailed off.

Tenten was studying the boy and chuckled.

"Trunks."

He looked up and petrified when she beamed him the most beautiful smile he ever saw.

"I don't hate you. Let's play when we meet again."

Trunks was captivated by her smile and couldn't turn his gaze away while feeling his heart pounding so loud against his chest. His children's brain didn't allow him to tell what the feeling he had right now is. He snapped himself out from his reverie when he heard his mother calling for him.

"See you then, Tenten," he said as he turned his body to exit the room.

Tenten raised her hand and waved at him. "See you, Trunks."

* * *

Bulma was scolding him still even after they boarded the plane. But none of her words seem to went through his brain. "I don't get it, son! Why you have to be so cocky like your father!" she gruffly spoke while driving the plane.

Trunks didn't respond. He just gazed longingly at the window and sighed. Bulma rolled her eyes and noticed his despondent expression.

"Did Tenten forgive you?" she asked.

"She did."

"Then why you look so down?"

"… Nothing, Mom."

Bulma observed him and he looked like distress over something. She asked him, "What do you think about Goten?"

"He's okay."

"And what about Tenten?"

His gaze fell to the ground and he was flustered. "C-cute…"

Bulma glanced at him and smirked. _'So, this is the beginning of their story, huh?'_

* * *

That very day, Tenten was trying to make a barrier just like the one she made yesterday. She couldn't hold the barrier for too long because it was taking up her strength. Goten kept asking whether or not he could make one too, but Gohan said he didn't know. The new power was shocking her, but she was proud of her 'masterpiece'. She approached the holes the two boys made yesterday and put her signature on it.

"This is, boy… What you got for underestimating girl," she said to herself with a cunning smirk.

* * *

 _AN: And that concludes the first chapter! Please tell me what you think about it and vote if you love it! =D_


	2. 02: Finding The Intruders

**The Mischievous Warriors**

 _AN: This chapter linked with the first chapter of 'The Silver Lining', the sequel of The Mischievous Warriors' I had posted long time ago before I decided to rewrite the whole things again. Feel free to click my profile and find the story. Hope you enjoy this!_

 ** _Disclaimer: Dragon Ball © Akira Toriyama, Shuheisha, Inc._**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 2: Finding the Intruders_**

* * *

Trunks tediously slumped into his bed with his robot toy in his hand. He was overwhelmed with boredom that day – moving from one toy to another before finally had a _slightly_ better time with his robot toy. He pressed the button to make the robot blinking the blue light on its chest, but broken because he pressed it with too much power. He scoffed, feeling aggravated with the fact that he had broken another thing, and it was the twentieth that week.

He had been complaining his mother, asking her why she didn't make things sturdier in the house since everything seemed so fragile under his touch. But his mother told him that he was the one that yet to control his power since he was _special_. He didn't get why his mother said he was special. He was comparing himself to the kids around him, observed them and he didn't see anything different between him and them. He glanced at the mirror, observing himself – two eyes, one nose, one mouth, two ears, ten fingers for hands and another ten for his toes –nothing different.

Talking about special, his mind wandered to Tenten on the day she blew him out from her house. She was the one that supposed to be _special_ in his opinion. What was that power anyway? He was wondering if Goten and Tenten were the same with him. It would be nice to have friends that shared the same experience with him. He felt so lonely because his mother didn't let him play with just anyone.

He had started his training since a year ago with his father. His father asked him to follow him to his training room and let him observed him training, thus lighting the fire within him. He felt like his blood screaming to moved just like he did – punching, kicking, all those cool things. He was fascinated when his father showed him something cool called a Ki blast, immediately nagging his father to teach him how to do it. But his father mysteriously smirked and said he'd teach him how to do it after he learnt the basic and he never missed his training ever since.

He sprang to his feet and went towards the living room where his mother probably was. He faintly heard two another voices aside from his mother's, making him wondered if they had any guests coming. He grinned, pumped up to meet whoever these guests were and strode towards the living room, slamming the door open and said, "Mom! My toy is broken!"

He blinked when he saw no one but his nervous looking mother, but three set of cups on top of the table didn't miss from his attention. Out of curiosity, he asked his mother, "Do we have guests?"

Bulma's lips quirked up, forcing a smile as she answered him, "Y-yeah."

"Who's coming, Mom?"

"Old friend of mine, but they're home already," she answered with a sheepish smile.

Trunks pouted, disappointed that he didn't see the guests but most importantly feeling weird since he was pretty certain he heard their voices not long ago, and his mother didn't convince him at all. He let his eyes wandered around the room, searching for any pieces of evidence before finally laid his eyes on the coolest sword he ever saw. His eyes widened upon the sight because he never got to see the real thing before.

"Wow! Is that a sword!?" He immediately ran towards the weapon, but before he could grab it, Bulma moved faster and took it away from his reach.

"No touching!" she reprimanded him, pointed a threatening finger at him.

"Aww, come on Mom! Just a little! Pleasee…"

"Nope! This is really dangerous. And this is belongs to old friend of mine, so don't touch it."

He whined. "You're stingy, Mom."

"Call me whatever you want, but you're not going to play with this. Here, give me your toy and I will fix it later."

Trunks pouted and handed the toy on his hand to his mother. He still eyed the sword his mother held – silently wondered how the sword would look like when it was out from its sheath.

Was it sharp? He really wanted to see it. He was wondering if the owner still around. Whoever the owner was might not as stingy as his mother did and would eventually let him take a good look at the sword. He pursed his lips and was about to leave the room when he felt something just outside his window. Just recently his father taught him how to sensed someone's Ki and even though it was vague, he could tell that somebody was there. He wheeled around and ran towards the window.

"H-hey, Trunks! Where are you going!?" Bulma called him.

He slid the window open and saw nothing out of it. "Weird, I feel like there's somebody here just now."

"I told you there's no one outside, right?" Bulma said while folding her arms.

He nodded. "Oh yeah, maybe you're right, Mom." His mouth pursed and he finally decided to leave the room and going back to his room. Maybe he was hallucinating things…

That was the moment when he heard someone's voice, a woman's voice.

Trunks widened his eyes and looking at his ceiling where the voice probably came from. But most importantly, he knew it… He knew this voice. He had heard this voice somewhere a long time ago and some part of him longing to hear it again without ever knowing the owner. It was vague in his memory, but this was the voice that always put him asleep when he was a baby. He clenched his fists and sprinted towards the stairs to go upstairs.

"Trunks, where do you want to go?" His mother asked.

"I think I heard somebody's voice up here!" he said.

"Are you sure you're not imagining it?" Bulma asked him again.

"I'm pretty sure I heard it, Mom."

Bulma sighed. "Whatever, it's up to you whether you want to believe me or not."

Before Trunks said anything, he heard a squeal from another woman and saw Chichi strode towards Bulma and hugging each other.

"Bulma, it's been a long time!" she said.

"You're looking great Chichi. How are you doing? Did you bring the kids with you?"

"I did, they're outside. So where are they?"

"Who did you mean?" Bulma asked.

"Te–,"

The panic Bulma immediately clamped Chichi's mouth as fast as she could.

Trunks was pretty much convinced now that his mother was hiding the mysterious guests from him – for an unknown reason. He went towards the atrium and searched around before heading outside his house. Suddenly he heard voices that came from somewhere around the backyard. Smirking at the thought of finally finding them, he was grinning from ear to ear and approached it, but he found the Son siblings instead – Gohan, Goten, and Tenten, all three of them.

But there were no other people than them.

He frowned. He was certain the voices came from the mysterious guests' chattering. But putting that aside, he was happy to see the Son siblings coming to his house.

"Goten, Tenten! You're here! Hello, Gohan-san!" He beamed.

"Hello, Trunks! Long time no see!"Gohan looked a little nervous and smiled at him sheepishly.

"Hello Trunks!" Goten happily approached him.

"How are you doing?" Tenten greeted while waving her hand.

This was perfect. He could ask them to join his hands on finding the intruders inside his house. This should be an exciting adventure.

"Say, wanna join me on an important mission?" He grinned.

Goten tilted his head. "What mission?"

He winked and gave his thumb up. "Finding the intruders!"

Tenten tilted her head and gazed at him with a quizzical look. "Intruders?"

"Yeah, we have guests visited our house but Mom lied to me. Saying they went home already. So I'm going to find them!" He stated.

"A-are they bad people?" she asked again.

"I don't think so. But I wanna see them! So how about it?"

"Okay! We'll join you!" beamed Goten.

"Whatever happened with 'I', Goten? I'm not agreeing to join yet." Tenten twitched her mouth in vexation.

"But it sounds cool Tenten! The more people the greater chance for us to find them! Let's go!" He pumped his fist upwards.

"Okay! Follow my lead! We're going to search them from…" He looked around. "The balcony! Search the balcony!"

Trunks' eyes squinted as he observed the balcony. If they were moving from the backyard, the balcony should be the first place they approached. He glanced at his two other friends who were glancing at the balcony. While Goten looked excited, Tenten remained indifferent. His eyes lingered longer at the little girl and flustered when she caught him glancing at her. He whipped his head away from her and saw his father on the balcony, looking down at them.

"Hey, I don't think anybody would hide there. Why don't you guys search the other area?" Gohan suggested.

Trunks glanced at Gohan before calling his father, "Dad! Did you see anyone up there?" He asked.

He was looking left and right before answered, "No."

Maybe he was wrong. He sighed and glanced at his two little friends. "Okay! Let's look for them inside!" Trunk commanded while swinging his hand forward.

Goten brandished his little fist skywards, ecstatically followed him while Tenten sighed, annoyed because she was getting dragged without her consent. They went to check the rooms inside Trunks' house, checking every spot that seemed to be possible to hide the intruders – vacant rooms, wardrobe, below tables and such. Tenten scolded Goten when he went to lavatory and checked the toilet to see whether they were hiding there or not.

"Goten! Seriously you're not stupid enough to think they would hide there, right?"

"Well, it's possible Tenten. Bulma-san used to show me the watch that could make your body shrunk," he responded.

"But nobody would be crazy enough to hide there," she retorted and sighed.

Trunks was checking the wardrobes and empty rooms in his house and frowned when he found nothing. He checked his father's training capsule as well, but he could see nobody there. They were running towards the hallway.

"That's weird. Where did they go?" Trunks wondered.

"Maybe you're just being delusional, Trunks. If your Mom said they're home, then they're home already," Tenten told him.

"Yeah, why are you so curious about the guests anyway?" Goten asked, eyebrows knitted in question.

"I want to see whoever have such a cool sword!" he answered with fist clenched, full of determination.

"Sword?" The twins asked.

"Yeah, whoever it is leaving their sword in the living room. Mom wouldn't let me touch it, so I'm going to see the person to ask his permission myself to see the sword," he stated.

"I want to see the sword too! Then, let's go and find them!" Goten beamed with determination flared in his eyes.

"Okay! Let's go!"

Both Trunks and Goten were running through the hallway to continue their search. Tenten trekked behind them and sighed. She stopped on her track when she noticed a locker down the hallway and glanced at it. She didn't know why, but she felt somewhat curious about the locker. She put her hand on the handle and trying to pull it open, but it didn't budge.

"Oh, it's locked," she said while pulling her hand away from the handle. But she still felt curious about the locker. "That's weird. I'm sensing something inside it," she said as she once again put her hand on the handle.

"Tenten! What are you doing!? We're going to leave you!" She startled when she heard Goten called her from afar.

"Okay, I'll be there!" She took a glance at the locker again and shrugged before walked away.

Finally giving up searching the whole house, they decided to go outside. Capsule Corp.'s headquarter was relatively large. Aside from Brief's family three floors house, they still got labs divided into their respective divisions in the area. The twins loved the place when they visited it for the first time because it was like a giant fortress with many places to see. But if they had to search the entire area, it might take them three days or even the entire week.

The kids were slumping themselves on the grassy field to take a break from their mission. Goten was laying his entire body in it, giggling when he had a butterfly landed on his nose while Tenten practicing her barrier ability, Trunks interestedly glancing at her. She created a small one and letting it shattered before making another new one. Trunks was facing his palms just like she did, concentrating himself to make one himself but he couldn't.

"Hey, Tenten. Why you can do it while we can't?" Trunks asked her.

Tenten shook her head. "I don't know myself. It just happened naturally," she said as she glanced at her palm.

"I was wondering too, especially since I'm your twin." Goten pouted.

"Yeah, I'm really weird, right," Tenten said curtly.

"I'm weird too. I kept breaking things against my will," Goten added.

Trunks widened his eyes, realizing that the twins were the same with him. He was glad that he wasn't alone in this. "Then I'm weird too," he finally said.

Goten innocently glanced at him. "Trunks, are you keep breaking things too?"

Trunks nodded. "Yeah, most of my toys were broken in my hands. But I'm proud to be weird; maybe we would be doing something big in the future."

Tenten lifted her eyebrows. "Oh, turned out you can say something nice."

Trunks glared at her. "What do you mean by that?"

"You're a meanie. I thought you only said mean things from time to time," she retorted.

"Oh, I can be nice Tenten, but it'll depend on how you treat me."

"I never treat you bad yet you said mean things to me."

Goten was simultaneously glancing at the two with a sad expression, staring at Trunks when he said something then back to Tenten when she retorted. He raised his hands, trying to calm the two.

"Hey guys, stop–"

Their quarrel abruptly stopped upon a deafening boom that roared around the area. They covered their eyes and the blinding explosion and widened their eyes when they noticed one of Bulma's lab was swallowed by fire.

"Oh no… What happened?" Tenten said as she clamped her mouth.

Trunks scoffed when he remembered something important inside the lab and immediately running towards the lab.

"Trunks, where do you want to go!?" Goten called him.

"I must go there! My Mom's research documents were there!" he said as he continued running towards the lab.

"Stop Trunks! It's dangerous!" Tenten called him but he ignored her. She whipped her head towards Goten. "Goten, please tell Bulma-san we're going there. I have to follow him."

"No Tenten! It's dangerous!" he said as he grabbed her arm.

"I must protect Trunks no matter what the cost. We're going to be fine, okay?" she told him before running after Trunks.

Goten was waiting outside the lab, staring at the staffs who made their escape one by one. One of the staff was making an announcement that he had made sure everyone out, but Goten didn't catch any shadow of both Trunks and Tenten, so he approached the lab and screamed, "Trunks! Tenten! Where are you guys!?"

"Goten, why are you here?" Bulma asked, panting – seemed to be running as fast as she could.

"We were playing around here when we heard an explosion. Trunks entered the building to save your research file and Tenten followed him," he told Bulma.

"So they're still inside!?"

"If they're not here, then…" Goten felt his eyes watered at the thought of Trunks and Tenten still inside the lab. Engulfed with anxiety and fear of losing them, he mustered all the courage he had and ran towards the lab, but Bulma grabbed his arm.

"Goten! Don't!"

"L-let me go, Bulma-san! Trunks… Tenten! I couldn't let anything happen to my sister! Let me go!" he said, struggling from Bulma's grasp.

"Hold still, Goten. I will go to the lab now to save them."

But she was soon stopped by a hand and saw a pair of man and woman wearing helmets. Goten couldn't tell exactly, but they have a pleasant smell around them. The man seemed to say something to Bulma before running towards the lab with the woman followed behind him.

"B-Bulma-san, who are they?" He asked.

Bulma smiled at him. "Rest assured, Goten. Everything is going to be fine now," she said.

* * *

Trunks went inside the lab and gathered his mother's document before exiting the office. The window in his mother's office was shattered because of the fire and the shards were about to hit him when he saw a blue barrier protecting him. He looked up and saw Tenten coughed while extending her arms. She created the barrier to protect him from the shards.

"Tenten, why are you following me!?" he shouted.

"Is that your way to thank me!? Anyway, save it for later. We have to get out now!" She grabbed his hand and run towards the exit. But a fallen pillar was blocking their way. Trunks pulled Tenten to another way when suddenly Tenten pushed him. He slithered on the floor and accidentally hit the wall because of that. He looked up and widened his eyes when he saw another pillar was falling and Tenten was trapped below it.

"No! Tenten!" He strode towards her and pushed the pillar away from her. When he finally got rid most of the debris, he pulled her body out from it and gently slapped her face. "Open your eyes, Tenten!"

Tenten moaned as her eyes fluttered open. Trunks sighed in relief when he saw her getting her consciousness back. He put her arm around him and slowly walked to get their way out from the place, but he couldn't find his way out. He scoffed and started to hate himself because he couldn't figure the way out from the place.

 _'If… If I'm stronger than the way I am, Tenten wouldn't have to…'_

"Trunks, leave me and get out from here…" Tenten said, coughing due to the amount of smokes she inhaled. "Quick!"

"What are you saying!? We're going to get out from here _together_!" he scolded her.

He desperately searched for a safe place to walk, felt hopeless when he found none. He wanted to cry, hoping his father could come to save him. But decided to wipe his tears and refused to give up. He fixed Tenten's position around him and dragged her when he heard someone calling them from afar.

"Trunks! Tenten! Where are you!?"

"O-over here…" Trunks said, trying to raise his voice but couldn't. Fortunately, their savior managed to find them on time. He saw a man and a woman wearing helmet approaching them.

"Please… Help Tenten… D-don't let anything happened to her…" he told them. The man put his arm on Tenten's body to support him.

The woman held him and said, "There, there… You're doing great! Everything will be alright. We're here to save both of you."

Trunks widened his eyes when he heard her voice.

It was this woman. She was the owner of the voice he had been longing to hear…

"Y-you are…"

The man finally took Tenten from him and carried her. "Okay, princess. Let me take you out from here."

Tenten put her arms around him. "Thank you, sir. Please make sure Trunks okay as well…" she said as she rested her head on his shoulder.

He patted her back. "He's okay. Rest assured."

"Thank goodness…" She trailed off.

"Okay, let's get out from here."

The man fired an energy ball at the ceiling, creating a large hole on it before escaping through it with the woman carrying Trunks followed behind him. Trunks looked up in admiration at the woman that currently carried him. He held the woman tightly, feeling like he missed her warmth all this time.

As soon as they escaped from the lab, the pair laid both Trunks and Tenten on the grass. The medical staff immediately approached them and gave them oxygen. He could saw the pair was running away. His eyes still followed them. But before he could call them, his mother run towards him and hugged him tightly.

"My boy! Thank goodness you're okay!" she said before kissing his forehead.

Little Trunks held his Mother back and handed her the map he got from the lab and said, "Mom, this is your important documents… I… managed to save them for you…"

Bulma blinked, taking the map from him and asked, "Are you… going there just to take this for me?"

He nodded.

Bulma shook her head disbelievingly and hugged him even tighter. "Silly boy… I appreciate this so much, but you have to remember these files _aren't_ as important as you, so don't do anything stupid anymore, okay?" she said as she caressed her son's cheek and kissed his forehead.

Trunks shifted his glance to the little girl that was now sleeping in Gohan's arm. He slowly reaching for her hand and grasped it firmly.

"Tenten… I'm glad you're okay…" he said before closing his eyes, falling asleep.

* * *

Tenten's eyes fluttered open and saw both Goten and Trunks were sleeping on either sides of her. She was trying to recall what happened when suddenly it hit her. She couldn't really tell what was happening the moment she and Trunks were saved by two anonymous, but she still remembered how strong and valiant the man was. She had a sweet dream about a guy swinging his sword to protect her. She couldn't see the face, but she was certain that he must be handsome. She was smiling to herself at the memory, giggling to herself while having a dreamy expression plastered on her face.

"I'll see you someday, my prince," she said.

* * *

 _AN: So who are the two intruders? Share your thoughts on review!_


	3. 03: Jealousy

**The Mischievous Warriors**

 ** _Disclaimer: Dragon Ball © Akira Toriyama, Shuheisha, Inc._**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 3: Jealousy_**

* * *

"God's Palace?" Tenten asked.

"Yes, it's the place where the Earth God lives, along with my teacher, Piccolo," Gohan answered. He was bringing both Goten and Tenten to the God's Palace. He had Goten on his back while holding Tenten in his arms as he flew his way towards the God's Palace.

It had been a while since he paid a visit to the palace since he was busy with both his school and his younger siblings. But ever since Tenten had discovered one of her ability, he decided to bring her to meet Piccolo because he was the only one with a clue about it. Beside, her ability would come in handy in the future – who knew she'd put in a good use if she got an early lesson to it.

"By Earth God, do you mean… the God that rules the Earth?" Goten asked her brother.

"Well… You can say that. Aside from that, he was the one who made the Dragon Balls."

The twins gasped and clamped their mouth. "The magic balls that could grant any wishes you have!?" they said in sync.

Gohan chuckled. "Yes, that one."

He noticed the twins start fidgeting; feeling impatience to see the God they never know existed. Gohan could see the circular-shaped palace that located in between the Earth and God's Palace from afar, decided to make a stop to greet the two inhabitants, Korin and Yajirobe. The whote-furred cat hermit waved his paw from afar, but before Gohan could introduce them, the twins gleamed at the sight of Korin and tackled him with all their powers, snuggling their chubby cheeks against Korin's soft fur ("It's so fluffy!," they screamed).

Gohan pulled his younger siblings by their clothes, admonished them for their impoliteness and that they shouldn't treat him like a pet, but Korin just laughed and told Gohan to let them be.

Gohan and Korin were filling each other on the activities they had during the peaceful times while the twins pestering Yajirobe and forced him to play plane with them. Yajirobe told them to leave him alone since they could fly themselves but swiftly apologize when the twins pouted and told him they couldn't fly. Yajirobe ended up playing with them unwillingly, but eventually starting to enjoy the kids' presence.

The elder Son laughed at the sight, but soon faded at the memory of his father. His brain was playing with his sight when the image of Yajirobe lifting the twins replaced by his father. He froze by this, stomach churned with guiltiness and frowned at the thought of how the twins' life would be with their father's presence. He covered his lips with knuckle and looked away, but his despondent expression didn't go unseen from Korin.

"Gohan, you shouldn't feel guilty about it you know?" Korin said with a sigh.

The statement caught Gohan's attention as he craned his face towards the cat hermit. His eyes fell to the ground before looking back at the twins with a hint of regret.

"I know that. But I couldn't help it… Goten and Tenten need their father as much as I do. And I'm responsible for making them growing up without their father."

"Let bygones be bygones, Gohan. You had saved us all and gave them peaceful environment to grow up, hadn't you?"

"But-"

"You'll make Goku sad if you're thinking that way. I know things will be different with Goku here with us, but some things in this world are inevitable that not even a Kaioo knows. Maybe Goku was fated to gone that day, no matter what you do to stop it."

Gohan didn't answer, instead looking down to the ground again, diverting his attention by counting the white tiles until Korin patted his shoulder and pointed his furry finger at the twins. "Take a look at their expression. What did you see?"

He scrutinized his siblings' expression and muttered with a low voice, "Happiness…"

Korin smiled at his answer. "Don't you think you're doing a great job by giving them the feeling they experienced now?"

His siblings' melodious laughter suddenly dispelled his anxiety and grazed a soft smile on his lips. Korin was right, there was nothing he could do to undo what had happened, but he could continue making his younger siblings happy, and that was all he could do to repent his mistake.

"Thank you so much, Korin-sama."

* * *

The Son siblings resumed their way to the God's Palace, and Gohan only needed to fly upwards to reach it. The twins were both bouncing in his arms, squealing at the thought of meeting the mighty God of Earth. Gohan topped his speed to let the wind whipping their faces, making the twins laughing at the feeling of refreshing cold wind.

The palace located right above Korin's tower and it was in geostationary orbit in the sky. Gohan landed and put the twins on the ground. The twins were all hyped up when they saw the palace and running here and there to observe the new place.

"Brother what is that!?"

"Brother! Can we enter the palace!?"

"Whoa! Slow down you two. We have to greet Dende and Piccolo first before you roam the place," he said as he lifted both of his hands. The twins pouted but Gohan raised his finger point. "Remember what I taught you? When you visit a place, you have to greet the householder first."

They nodded in understanding. "Okay…"

"Gohan, you're here!" They turned around to see Dende and Piccolo emerged from the palace, followed by Mr. Popo.

"Dende! Piccolo-san! Mr. Popo!" Gohan ran towards them and greeted them.

Piccolo smirked at the sight of his former apprentice; proud to see Gohan grew taller since the last time he saw him, face resembling Goku almost like he was Goku's carbon copy, but Goten easily beat him in term of resemblance with their father – he looked exactly like Goku when he was a kid, both in face, personality and hairstyle. Tenten on the other hand, looked nothing like her father but she resembled her mother so much, inwardly hoping her personality was anything but her mother's since he couldn't imagine a powerful version of Chichi.

The twins were gaping and had their curious eyes lingered on the strange people that stood before them. Gohan turned around and waved his hand to call his overexcited siblings. "Goten, Tenten. This is Dende, the Earth God. And this is my teacher Piccolo. And that's Mr. Popo, Earth God's assistant," he introduced each of the palace's residents.

The twins took steps forward and approached Dende, suddenly kneeling in front of him, shocking the little Earth God.

"H-hey, what are you two doing?"

Goten spoke, "Since you're the Earth God…"

"We have to kneel before you." Tenten finished his sentence.

"Thank you for taking care of us all this times," they said in unison.

Gohan was laughing outright while Piccolo lowly laughed in amusement of their action, followed by Mr. Popo's laugh while Dende propped them up. "Come on, don't be like that. I want you to treat me like your friend," he told them.

"It's an honor for us, Dende-san!" They saluted, earning a small laugh from Dende who gently patted the twins.

Piccolo approached them to scrutinize the twins who shifted their attention at the bigger Namekian. Normally, children would be frightened by Piccolo's appearance, but Piccolo could see amazement glittered in their curious eyes instead. He never saw Goten, but he had heard his stories from Tenten's future counterpart years ago – they boy who saved her life by sacrificing his own. He looked very naïve compared to Tenten, probably going to be dominated by his twin sister because she was a foxy girl.

The sight of the little Tenten had reminded him of her future counterpart as well, and he was wondering what she was doing right now. Even though he was seeing _her_ right now, it would be nice to meet her future counterpart again someday.

"I'm Tenten! Nice to meet you, sir!" she said suddenly while bowing her head.

"And I'm Goten!" The spiky haired Saiyan beamed from her side.

"Hello Tenten, Goten. Nice to meet you too. Please call me Piccolo."

"Are you sick, Piccolo-san? You're looking green and pale. And Dende-san too," she asked with her eyebrows slightly furrowed, looking worried.

Piccolo chuckled at her innocent remark. "No, Tenten. This is our characteristic as a Namekian."

"Namekian?" they asked in unison, and that was when both Piccolo and Dende enlightened them about the existence of the Namekian.

The twins were surprised to the fact that there was another living planet existed aside from the planet Earth, and swiftly moved to Gohan's side, pestering him to bring them to a vacation in planet Namek. Gohan sheepishly laughed while they were pulling him left and right, telling them that they would when they were frown up.

The twins were later preoccupied with Mr. Popo, looking attracted to the thousand years old guy because he looked funny. He was touring them around the God's palace while Gohan, Dende and Piccolo sat outside the palace for talking. Piccolo reminded Gohan to keep training since they have to be ready for any threat that might occur in the future.

"Talking about training, Piccolo-san… I want to ask you a favor." He said.

"What is it, Gohan?"

"Tenten… She have found out about her ability."

"Which one?"

"The barrier. She accidentally triggered it when Trunks and Goten pulled a prank at her," Gohan said, letting out a small laugh at the memory of the holed wall. Tenten protested her mother when she fixed the wall, begging her mother to let her kept her 'masterpiece', but Chichi wouldn't allow it.

"So they _used to be_ on bad terms as a kid, huh?" Piccolo remarked, earning a laugh from Dende.

"They were quarrelling every time they met," Gohan told him. "They eventually make up in the end, but Tenten prone to be stern around him."

Piccolo chuckled at the story and recalled the moment when they were fighting because of him. Gohan continued the story about their last visit for their victory report and smiled when he heard they had ended their long fight with the androids and Cell. He especially fond of the girl and she was as precious as Gohan was to him. But her mystery would still be something he wanted to solve and he hoped he could find the answer from the present Tenten.

"That aside, Piccolo-san, the real reason I brought them today is because I want you to start Tenten's training."

Piccolo nodded. "Of course, her ability is going to be useful in the future. I will train her. Don't worry."

"Thank you so much, Piccolo-san."

Suddenly they heard a whizzing sound of plane and saw a capsule plane heading towards the palace. After it made a safe landing on the ground, they saw Bulma emerged from the plane and waved her hand towards them. "Hey everyone! How are you doing?"

"Bulma-san! How did you know we're here?" Gohan asked while propped himself up and approached her.

"I visited Chichi just a while ago and she told me you're here, so I thought I might as well come and show Trunks the place since he never been here before. Come here, Trunks," she said as she helped the boy down from the plane. The lavender haired boys had his curious blue eyes roamed the place and actually amazed by the fact the place was hundred feet above the Earth.

"Trunks, come here and greet Piccolo and Dende," Bulma told him.

Trunks nodded and immediately approached the Namekians. He glanced at Dende and Piccolo alternatively and asked his mother, "Mom, are they sick?"

"No they don't. It's their skin traits even though it made them looks like they were." Bulma blurted.

"I see…" He glanced back at them and bowed his head. "I'm Trunks."

"Nice to meet you Trunks," Dende politely greeted him back.

Trunks' expression lit when he saw Gohan stood beside Dende. "Gohan-san. How are you doing!"

"I'm doing well, Trunks," he said as he squatted to Trunks' eye level. Not long after that, Mr. Popo came out from the palace with Goten and Tenten holding each of his hands.

"Trunks! You're coming here as well!" Goten beamed while running towards him.

"Goten! Tenten…" His voice softened when he saw the girl behind her twin brother. Her lips pursed when she saw him.

"Oh, you're here too…" Tenten said coldly.

Trunks frowned at this, offended by her cold reaction. "Why you didn't look happy when you see me?"

Tenten forced a grin. "On the contrary I'm _so happy_ to see you," she sarcastically retorted.

Piccolo couldn't stifle a smile that crossed his lips when he saw them quarrelling. They were shouting at each other nonstop when he decided to step in and distracted them. He approached Tenten and asked her, "I heard you can make barrier, Tenten. Can you show it to me?"

Tenten nodded and make a small barrier in front of her. The shape wasn't perfect and it still fragile, but she had the potential. She frowned when the barrier shattered in front of her and glanced at Piccolo. "I couldn't hold it for too long…" she pouted.

"Then I'll do something about it." Piccolo told her.

Tenten's eyes widened. "You can teach me, Piccolo-san?"

"Yes." He briefly responded.

Tenten squealed and threw her arms around Piccolo. "Teach me! Teach me! Teach me! Please teach me, Piccolo-san!"

Piccolo took the girl in his arms and told her, "I will teach you the basic started from today and I'll visit your house every week to check your progress. How about it?"

"Yay! I can begin my training!" She pumped her fists upwards. Piccolo smiled at her spirit, but he suddenly felt a drop atmosphere behind him and glanced from the corner of his eyes to see a very mad Trunks glaring at him, as if he tried to pierce an ice spear through his chest. He decided to let Tenten down and pretended he didn't saw him.

* * *

Bulma was celebrating Trunks' sixth birthday the following week. She held an outdoor party and specially invited the warriors. The party was a blue and yellow colored themed and Bulma made a gate made of blue and yellow balloon at the entrance of the garden. There was a big Major Trunk's balloon near the birthday cake. It was an elephant cartoon hero that wore black eye glasses and donned superman suit. Bulma chose the cartoon mascot because its name similar to her son's. The food stalls were lining up on each side of the place and the chefs were ready to make a scrumptious treat for the guests.

Yamcha was the first one to arrived, followed by Tienshinhan and Chaotzu. Kuririn was the next one and shocked everybody when he had a blond haired baby girl on his right hand and the other hand holding #18's. Yamcha had his jaw dropped at the family picture, never expecting Kuririn to beat him by getting married before him.

Bulma had one of her staff picking up the Son's family from their house because it would be hard for Gohan to fly with his family because the twins weren't able to fly yet. Trunks was ecstatic to see the plane bringing his small friends landed. Once the door opened, Goten jumped out from the plane and run towards Trunks with his present on his hand.

"Hey Trunks! Happy birthday!" he greeted.

Gohan followed behind him with Chichi holding Tenten's hand. Trunks glanced at Tenten, waiting for her to wish him happy birthday but the said girl was occupied with a conversation with her mother. When they finished, she was looking at Trunks and approached him.

"Happy birthday, Trunks," she greeted as she took both of his hands.

"T-thanks, Tenten," he quickly answered to hide his embarrassment.

"I hope you're getting smarter this year," she added.

"And what do you mean by smarter?"

"Exactly like what I implied. I should wish you something good on your birthday, shouldn't I?" She was smiling triumphantly at him.

Trunks pouted when he couldn't retort her back. He heard a thud and turned his head to see Piccolo arrived with Dende. The green Namekians approached him and wished him happy birthday, giving him a duplicate of dragon model that similar to the one Mr. Popo made for the Dragon Ball. But Piccolo's arrival was taking Tenten's attention too much to his liking. The girl kept talking about her training progress as Piccolo lifted her up in his arms. Trunks was furious. This is his birthday and he wasn't going to let anyone took her attention away from him. He stomped his way to Piccolo, poking his leg and crossing his arms.

"Put her down, Piccolo!"

Piccolo was bewildered at his action while Tenten frowned at him. "What do you want, Trunks?"

"I want him to put you down."

"And why is that?"

"Because I said so!"

"And why should he follow what you want!?"

"Because you're my girlfriend!" he blurted.

Tenten scrunched her face while the adults jaw dropped at his brute claim. "I don't remember I agreed to be one!"

"Well you are now!"

A vein popped on Tenten's temple. She asked Piccolo to put her down and she stomped her way towards Trunks. She threateningly pointed her finger at his chest.

"Listen… Even if the world is doomed and there were only two people left, me and you…" her voice was shaky due to the anger that pent up inside her. "I will NOT become your girlfriend!" she shouted, leaving the devastated looking Trunks. He felt the large boulder just crashed him right on his head.

Piccolo glanced at Dende, guilt visible in his expression. "I made them fight again," he said with a deep sigh, making the Earth God smiling sheepishly with a drop of sweat trickled on his temple. Piccolo never understands this thing human called love, yet he always ended up becoming the subject of their quarrel. Even their future counterpart used to argue over him.

Bulma shifted her gaze and Chichi and gulped. "W-will they be okay in the future?"

Chichi shook her head. "Well, now I'm not sure anymore…"

* * *

After his argument with Tenten, Trunks couldn't enjoy the party at all. He was shocked at her rejection and didn't even feel happy when his mother gave him the plane model he always wanted. He glanced at the subject of his mind that was playing with Kuririn's baby.

He felt someone patted his back, turned around to saw Gohan smiled at him. "Hey. How's the birthday boy doing?"

His gaze fell to the ground. "I made her mad, Gohan-san. She doesn't want to play with me anymore… I just… want her attention on me."

"Well, I can help you with that," he smirked.

This got Trunks' attention. "Do you know a cartoon character named Anpanman? She loves to watch the series every Sunday."

Trunks scrunched his nose at this. "I know it. Why she likes that stupid bread?"

"That's because Anpanman loves to help people. He jumps at everyone who needs his help no matter who he is. He even pulls off parts of his head to feed hungry people, no matter how ugly he became."

"She likes that kind of hero?"

Gohan nodded. "She likes that kind of hero."

* * *

Tenten felt slightly guilty at Trunks for shouting at him at his birthday. But she still aggravated because he spoke impolitely to the Piccolo she always admired and moreover, declaring her as his girlfriend without her consent. She wolfed her cake in greedy manner when she recalled the event. The strawberry shortcake she just took from the cake stall almost made her crying with happiness. The cream sweetness was just right and blended perfectly with the sour and sweet sensation from the strawberries. She smiled to herself, savoring her moment with the cake.

"Tenten, why are you mad with Trunks?"

Tenten's expression shifted from the blissful expression to sheer rage at the mention of the name. She glared at Goten for bringing up the name when she was having her moment with her cake.

"He's really snob and selfish. Sometimes he went overboard, that's why I'm mad."

He tilted his head. "But today is his birthday. Can't you let it slid just this time?"

Tenten pouted but she was helpless when Goten glanced at her with such an innocent gaze. She really hated him when he did that because it shattered her resistance to comply with his wishes. But she hated him even more when she realized that he was right.

It was Trunks' birthday today and she shouldn't be making him sad. While she didn't know the reason he threw tantrum at Piccolo, she should forgive him today, just for today. With that in her mind, she forked another bite of cake with a small nod and said, "I'll do that later."

Goten cheerfully smiled. "That's nice! I like it when everyone happy and friendly," he said as he ate his cake.

Tenten rolled her eyes away from her twin brother, silently ponder why she felt so weak towards Goten.

* * *

Trunks was eating his sushi when he noticed a space ship came by. The spaceship belonged to none other than a funny looking alien patrol galaxy named Jaco. The blue faced alien emerged from his ship and gave him pineapple cake that was well-known in the entire galaxy. While he never been a fan of sweets, Trunks still happily accepted the gifts and thanked him. He was making his signature pose when he saw Trunks happy with his gift, making Trunks twitched his lips, unsure what to answer when the alien asked him what he thought about his pose.

The alien conversed with Bulma later, telling the blue haired scientist that he couldn't stay for too long since he had an urgent business to do while Bulma insisted him to eat some food before he left.

He left them and went to the yakiniku stall to get a plate of it. While he was waiting for his order, he saw Tenten walked towards his direction. He could feel his cheek getting hot when she caught his eyes, suddenly worked his brain to find the right words to apologize to her.

When she walked passed Jaco's spaceship, the side of the ship produced billowing smokes, followed by a huge explosion. Tenten stumbled when the air pressure blown her body and that was the moment when Trunks' feet working by their own, speeding his way towards Tenten when he saw the spaceship parts flying to every direction.

"Tenten! Watch out!"

She tilted her head to her right, but she wouldn't be able to react in time, so he jumped onto her, covering her body with his, arms around her head. A big chunk of iron hit his head before his body rolled with her on the ground.

Tenten's eyes fluttered open when she felt something warm enveloping her body. She looked up to see Trunks on her top. "T-Trunks…" She widened her eyes when she saw blood trickled on his face.

Trunks pushed himself off the ground and sighed in relief when he saw her unharmed. He tucked away the hair that wildly covered her face behind her ears. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Trunks! My boy! Are you okay!? Jaco! You're to be blamed if my son becomes an idiot because that stupid ship of yours! I will make a big hole in your head if that happens! You heard me!?" Bulma shouted at the frightened alien.

Vegeta checked his body for any other wound. "Are you okay, son?"

He put his hand over the wound and winced, "Y-yeah, just a little wound."

Tenten still petrified on her spot, seeing the wounded Trunks while Goten shaking her body on her side, asking if she was okay. She nodded in response, but still had her eyes on Trunks. She was shouting at him, but he was in turn saving her from getting wounded. She guiltily clutched her chest, feeling responsible for hurting Trunks both mentally and physically.

She didn't like this. She hated seeing people hurt because of her, and she could do nothing about it.

 _'I wish I can do something about it,'_ she inwardly said while raking her teeth on her bottom lip.

That was the moment when she saw a flash of white surging from the center of her eyes, and something warm flowing from her chest through every veins of her body. She flipped her palms and looking at them both, wondering what was happening. But the next thing she knew, she was kneeling beside Trunks and subconsciously moved her hand over Trunks' wounded head. She startled when a white glow formed below her hand, earning an audible gasp from both her and Trunks.

Trunks could feel a soothing feeling came from her hand as his wound closed up. When she retracted her hand from him, he didn't feel pain anymore, and the wound was completely gone. The audience deprived of capability to speak at the moment while Goten fell to his knees at the sight, making a sound of thud that redeemed Tenten from her train of thoughts.

"T-thank you for protecting me…," she said quickly with a tint of pink on her face and looking away from him.

"Thank you for healing me too..." He scratched his head to hide his reddened face.

After that, Dende rushed to Trunks' side to check his wound and confirmed it was perfectly healed while throwing glances at Piccolo. He assured the panic Bulma that he didn't need further checkups in hospital while Gohan took Tenten in his arms to check if she was doing alright.

Bulma took Jaco's spaceship to her lab afterwards, telling Jaco that he owed her big time this time since she was going to fix his ship even after causing so much trouble in her son's birthday party. And with that, the birthday boy absconded into the pool side while reflecting the whole commotion that happened on his supposedly happy day. He sat on the pool side, slowly swaying his feet while letting the cold water seeping into him to cool his mind.

 _'So much for a birthday party,'_ he sadly thought.

He decided to go back to his the party place, stopping his feet movement and waiting until the ripples faded when they reflected Tenten instead. He whipped his head around to see the girl standing beside him.

"D-do you need anything, Tenten?" he stammered, turning his eyes back onto the water.

She didn't respond him, instead sitting beside him and dipped her feet into the water, playfully swaying her feet. He followed her movement and accidentally kicked her foot. She glanced at him and kicked him back and it became a game for them both. She was laughing when the drops of water drenched her, making him laugh in return.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you," she suddenly said.

"Huh?" He widened his eyes while putting his movement into a full halt.

"I shouldn't do that. This is your birthday – I should make you happy on your special day. Not yelling at you."

He shook his head and said, "That's okay. I'm the one who being rude in the first place, so I deserved it. You're doing the right thing."

"Wow…"

"What?"

"Birthday did make you wiser, didn't it?" She mocked him. "You change a lot in several hours."

He narrowed his eyes at her but suddenly recalled her remarks about becoming his girlfriend. "Tenten… do you hate me?"

Tenten lifted her eyebrows. "Why should I?"

"Y-you said that you don't want to be my girlfriend, so I thought you hate me."

"I dislike your selfishness. But I don't hate you." She slightly swayed her foots inside the water and said, "Especially after I saw you protecting me today. You look… cool," she lowered her voice when she mentioned the last word.

Trunks flustered at her last remark, never expected to hear the positive comment rolling from her usually sharp tongue. She smiled at him and leaned close to him, "I haven't given you your birthday present, right?" She kissed his left cheek and said, "Happy birthday, Trunks."

He smiled while touching his left cheek; decided this was the best birthday party ever.

* * *

When the party finally over, the Son family bid farewell to Bulma and thanking her for the invitation and even especially picking them up and sent them home. Tenten glanced at her palms, still wondering about her newfound ability. Goten kept telling her how cool her ability was and wondering if he could do that as well, the question that no one could answer.

On the midway of their trip, Goten broke the silence by asking his twin sister, "Tenten, why are you so mad when Trunks said you're his girlfriend?"

Gohan and Chichi turned their ears on the interesting conversation.

"Simple. I'm not his girlfriend, that's why I'm mad."

"But you are his girlfriend, Tenten!"

She frowned at this. "And why is that?"

"Because I'm his boyfriend."

Tenten widened her eyes while Gohan and Chichi gawked at him.

"And since you're a girl, you're his girlfriend."

Tenten was dumbfounded, she shook her head in disbelief and said, "Oh my Goten… you… I can't believe you!"

The mother and older brother were cracked by Goten's naivety.

* * *

 _AN: LOL~ I love Goten's naivety so much! And yeah, Tenten finally discovers her second ability in this chapter. What do you think about this chapter?_


	4. 04: The Fire Mountain

**The Mischievous Warriors**

 ** _Disclaimer: Dragon Ball © Akira Toriyama, Shuheisha, Inc._**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 4: The Fire Mountain Castle_**

* * *

The Fire Mountain had a common legend surrounding the mountain. It was said that the mountain was once called the 'Pleasant Mountain' and lived up to the name until a fire spirit fell from the heaven and transformed it into the mountain of eternal flame until Master Roshi put out the fire with his Kamehameha, ended up destroying Ox King's castle along with the mountain.

Master Roshi admonished Ox King because up until that moment he had building up his fortune by killing so many innocent lives and he repented his sins ever since by building the Ox King village. The fire engulfed the castle once again right before Goku and Chichi's marriage but they managed to put out the fire and brought peace once again to the Ox King's village. Ever since his daughter's marriage, he lived alone in the castle with his loyal servants.

Ox King made a visit to his treasure chamber and glanced around the treasures he managed to save before Master Roshi blew up his castle long time ago. He made a turn in one of the alley and smiled when he saw the treasure he cherished the most, the wedding dress. He gently traced his large fingers on the dress, recalling how beautiful his wife and Chichi in it. He wished he could see his granddaughter in it as well.

His mind wandered to the day when he entrusted the treasure chamber's key to his future granddaughter so she could pass along the inheritance. He heard about her marriage from Chichi when she made her final trip to report their victory against the androids and Cell. The news delighted him; he even made a small party with his servants to celebrate their victory in the devastated future. He didn't mention the reason behind the celebration to his servants though; he told them that he just felt like it and while his servants still curious, they didn't dare to ask him further.

Suddenly engulfed by the feeling of missing his family so much, he decided to leave the treasure chamber and made a call to his daughter. Ox King invited his grandchildren to have a sleep over at his castle and the twins couldn't be happier to say yes and jumping around. Ox King's servant's head, Bana was especially hyped to welcome the Son family to the Fire Mountain castle and had everything in order. The castle located not very far from their house, so they chose to ride Kintoun. The last time they visited the castle was when Goten and Tenten were too small to remember it.

"Grandpa!" The twins screamed in unison as they running towards his big arms.

"Goten! Tenten!" He lifted them easily and gave kisses on the forehead. "You've grown so fast that Grandpa hardly recognizes you!" He glanced up to see Chichi and greeted her as well. Gohan didn't come because he went to a summer camp.

"I'm five kilograms heavier than Tenten! She never drinks her milk until the very last drop!"

"I did, Goten! You're heavier than me because you're a glutton!" she pouted.

Ox King was laughing when they started bickering, "Now now, kids. If you're nice to each other, Grandpa will bring you to travel around the castle. How about it?"

They were squealed and jumped in his arms, "We want to, Grandpa! We will be nice today!"

Ox King cringed at the word 'today', meaning they didn't promise to remain good tomorrow.

"Can I invite Trunks, Grandpa?" Goten asked him with a pair of gleamed eyes. Tenten suddenly lost her excitement and rolled her eyes away.

"Of course! Go ahead and make a call and we'll wait for him."

He squealed and immediately headed to his grandpa's office, followed by Bana to make a call to his best friend. "Bana! Don't take your eyes off him! Or else he's going to lost!" Bana answered him from afar and immediately took a long step to catch up with him to hold his hand.

Ox King glanced at Tenten and noticed she slightly puffed her cheek. He patted her head and asked, "What's wrong Tenten? Why the long face?" He put her on his lap.

"Nothing."

"You don't like Trunks coming over?"

She paused for a moment before shaking her head. "That's not it, Grandpa… It's just…" She was lounging on her grandfather's belly while looking up at him; Ox King smiled because he found her face adorable. "I neither like nor dislike him…"

Finding the topic interesting, he decided to ask her again, "Can you tell me why?"

"I don't know how to explain this. He is mean and likes to pull pranks on me with Goten. But…" She tilted her head, "He saved me numerous times, even injured himself. I don't know whether he's good or bad."

Ox King chuckled when the question brought his memory back to the future Trunks and Tenten. He saw them get along well on their visit and finding it funny they had the bad term phase as well. "Well, Tenten…" He cleared his throat when he felt something clogging his voice, but getting her full attention. "Do you know that boys tend to do something opposite to someone they like?"

"Why is that?"

"Because they're too shy to admit the truth."

"I thought boys are braver than girls," she said while playing with the hem of her skirt.

He laughed and poking her cheek when she puffed it, "Bravery isn't necessarily presented by boys, Tenten. Girls tend to be braver than boys in some aspects."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Grandpa used to be a boy too, you know? I have to admit I'm having a hard time telling the truth about what I felt towards the people I like when we had no problem fighting a hundred warriors."

"You used to be a little boy, grandpa?"

"Of course, we are all growing up you know."

She touched his beard and asked again, "Did you born with a beard, grandpa?"

He laughed his guts out from the innocent question, "I don't have a beard as a baby, Tenten. I grow it out so I could _scare_ people." He pressed the 'scare' part with a whispering voice, earning a giggle from her.

"I want you to remember this since you're born in warrior's family, Tenten," he said as he turned her body around so she completely faced him. "You're going to have a hard time because boys are naturally stronger than girls. But I don't want you to let it break your spirit to grow stronger. Even boys have a hard time sometimes to the point they're breaking into tears."

"Even you, Grandpa?"

He nodded, "Even I, Tenten."

She giggled. "Can I make you cry, Grandpa?"

The question made him pause for a moment. However, it was soon replaced by a gentle smile when he recalled the day he met her future counterpart and cried when he saw her growing up into a beautiful girl.

"Oh, you absolutely can, Tenten," he said as he hugged her, suddenly missing her future counterpart and wondering what was she doing now.

* * *

Trunks was more than happy to accept Goten's invitation to explore Ox King's castle. The fire mountain ruler even asked him to stay a night along with his mother. Bulma happily accepted and immediately packed their things. Ox King was ecstatic when Goten told him that the mother and son are going to stay overnight. It had been a while he had so many guests in his castle.

"Bulma, Trunks! It's been a while!" Ox King exclaimed as he accepted Bulma's hand to give her a firm shake hand, although it was more like shake finger for Ox King.

"Sure it is. And you're as big as ever, Ox King! Thank you so much for your invitation," Bulma responded.

"Nah, compared to all you've done for Chichi and her family, this is nothing. You might want to rest for a while, Bulma. You might be tired after spending hours flying the plane all the way here."

"Nah, it's fine. It wouldn't be that long until I'm retiring from flying the plane anyway," she said as she glanced at the kids. "They wouldn't need me anymore in no time."

Ox King chuckled, "Yeah, the kids are growing so fast without us knowing, right?"

Like the other warriors, they would learn how to fly and going across the world without needing any vehicles because they would be faster than any kind of vehicles created in this world. Ox King had never been prouder when he found out Gohan defeated Cell, even though his grandson remained anonymous after the effort of rescuing the Earth from devastation. He was fine with it. It was the fact that better known only to him and several people.

* * *

Trunks and Tenten's relationship became much better ever since the accident that occurred on his birthday. Even though the boy still couldn't hold his tongue back from teasing her, he had learned to respect her more than he was before. He couldn't do much when he argued with her since she was smarter than him, so he usually teamed up with Goten to tease her.

"Since your grandfather is the king of the castle, doesn't it mean you're the princess of the castle?" Trunks asked him while mesmerized by the size of the castle. It might felt like an ordinary house's size for Ox King.

"Oh yes I am~" She happily answered.

"Forget it, Tenten. You can't be a princess the way you are." Goten smirked.

She scowled, "Why can't I?"

"Princesses are gentle and they couldn't make a giant hole with their fist," Goten taunted. He continuously teased Tenten because she accidentally made a hole in their house when she stumbled and was about to bump the wall. That was when she tried to hold herself against the wall with her fist but ended up destroying it instead.

"They can if they want to!"

"They can't, that's why they have the princes to save them!"

"What if there's no prince able save them?"

"They always have one, though." Trunks added, rolling his eyes.

"That's only in storybooks!"

"Okay, kids! Stop fighting!" Ox King chimed in with both hands raised to stop them from bickering any further and distracted them with the sweet treats he had prepared for the tea time.

They were gathering in the living room. Ox King had a nice evening chat with Bulma and Chichi while Tenten enjoyed her strawberry shortcake. They boy had finished their dessert and currently playing on the corner with the toys Ox King prepared for his grandson. Goten suddenly glanced at his family and with a naughty smile, poking Trunks' arm.

"Hey, Trunks… Do you want to do something interesting?"

"What is it Goten?" His eyes still lay on the toy in his hand.

"I saw a 'forbidden room' when my Grandpa showing us the castle." The lavender-haired boy immediately interested to hear more about it, so Goten continued, "He told me to never enter the room, but what do you think?"

Trunks lifted his eyebrows, "Are you seriously asking me that Goten?" The spiky haired boy nodded, earning a mischievous grin from him. "I smell an adventure…"

Goten clamped his mouth to stifle his giggle. They stealthily glanced at the adults before slowly tiptoed towards the door. When the door made a soft click, Tenten turned around and noticed the missing presences in the room.

* * *

Both Goten and Trunks smirked when they found the 'forbidden room'. The room was locked but breaking the lock was nothing for them since they had an extraordinary power. The door creaked open and they entered with excitement bubbling within their chest when they found the stairs that led them to the underground.

When they reach the end of the stairs they saw a huge room made of bricks. The air was humid that they scrunched their nose on the damp smell around them. The atmosphere was exactly the opposite of the luxury they saw on the upper ground. The room was lacked of electricity and used fire torches to light the pathways instead. It looks exactly like the video games Trunks had been playing.

When they marveled deeper into the room, they saw two rows of prisons on both of their sides. They went further and saw the coolest thing they ever saw; it was a line of knight armors. Goten and Trunks were jumping around at their discovery. While Goten examining the biggest armor, Trunks noticed there were other stairs heading to some kind of sewer. It must be the waterway they used for the prisoners.

"Trunks! Take a look at this armor!" Goten tugged his sleeve to get his attention. But Trunks laid his eyes on the sword instead. Despite located in a forgotten place, the armors and swords were all shiny. He always had a thing with swords and dreamt of having one someday. His mind strayed to the sword that belonged to his mother's 'guest'. The identity of the mysterious guests still remained a big mystery to him.

"So there you are!"

The unexpected voice had caught both of the boys off guard, making them jolted in their position and hit the armor, sending the vibration all the way to the helmet that was shaking uncontrollably on top of the armor. They whipped their heads and saw a frowned Tenten, placing both of her hands on her waist.

"Tenten, how do you know that we're here!?"

"Your Ki presence, duh! And I saw the lock was broken. Mom and Bulma-san were frantic when they noticed that you were missing. Why did you enter this place? I thought the board 'Forbidden' was clear enough to keep you away from here!"

But before they could answer anything, the helmet was falling down and hit Trunks right on the head. He accidentally kicked the armor shoes, sending the tremors to the whole armors and tumbled upon them. Trunks, Goten and Tenten looked up to find the body fell on them, trapping all of them inside. They were losing their balance at the sudden contact and roll along with the armor.

"What's happening!?" Trunks wiggled, trying to find his way out from the armor.

"S-somebody stops this thing!" Tenten shrieked while wiggled as well.

"I-I can't hold it anymore! I can't hold it anymore!"

"What is it, Goten!?" Trunks asked him.

"I can't hold it anymore! I want to vomit!"

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Trunks and Tenten shouted in unison

The armor was now rolling on the stairs and bouncing on every step.

"Somebody break this thing!"

"I can't move my hand!"

"Me neither!"

"Then do something!"

"What is this soft thing here!?"

"That's my chest, jerk!" Tenten smashed his head with her head because she couldn't move her hand to smack him.

"Trunks! Keep your hand away from Tenten!"

"I would love to move my hand away if I CAN!"

They could feel the armor flew before it crashed the water surface.

"Oh no! Do something! I can't swim!" Tenten screamed in panic.

"I could break this thing easily if I can move my hand!"

They started to drown due to the armor's weight. Trunks held his breath when water reached his face but the problem was neither of the twins able to swim. He shut his eyes, trying to figure out the way to save them when he suddenly recalled the conversations he had with his mother.

 _"Trunks, do you have anything you like for your upcoming birthday?" Bulma asked him while fixing his toys._

 _"Hmm… A sibling?" He answered after a moment._

 _Sounds of metal clattering on the floor echoed all around as Bulma dropped her things, shocked to hear his answer. Her lips quirked when she asked him again, "W-why do you want a sibling?"_

 _"It's unfair Mom. Goten has two while I don't have any. I want a sibling I could play with too! Why don't you just buy one for me?" He demanded._

 _Bulma chuckled at his innocent request, she left her work and approached Trunks, squeezing the boy until he protested. "Mom! I can't breathe!"_

 _"Well, a sibling isn't a thing you can just buy like that, son. It requires quite a… work from both me and your father."_

 _"Then why don't you two start working already?" He pouted._

 _"We'll try. But while we're working for that, why don't you show us whether you capable of being a big brother or not?" she snickered._

 _"How?"_

 _She brushed his violet hairs affectionately before resting her cheek on his head, "When you're playing with Goten and Tenten, I want you to remember that you're the oldest one. So you have to protect and take care of them. Can you do that for me?"_

 _"That's easy. I'll show you, Mom!"_

 _'That's right, I have to protect them. I am the oldest one here.'_ He saw Goten and Tenten almost losing their consciousness. _'Tenten, Goten… I won't let you die!'_ He felt power surge from his center, spreading all over his body. He instinctively released his power and broke the armor easily, immediately grabbed the twins and swam all the way up to the surface, pushing them to the nearest land he met before getting out from the water himself. He rubbed the twin's back as they coughed water.

"Are you okay?" He asked them.

Both of the twins sprawled on the ground, "I thought I was a goner…" Both said it in the same timing and pose.

 _'Twins…'_ Trunks chuckled amusedly.

After they gained their breath back, the twins slowly tilted their head toward him and widening their eyes.

"T-Trunks…"

"Y-you are… blonde…"

"Eh?"

Only now that he noticed that his power was surging. The air pressure around him felt different and he realized his body emitted a yellow colored glow. He turned his body towards the water and surprised to see his reflection on the water. His appearance drastically changed. His hair was spiked up and changed into a shade of gold while turquoise colored eyes replaced his blue ones.

Goten began the sentence, "And your Ki was…"

"… Huge," Tenten ended the sentence.

Trunks looked at the palm of his hand. Was this the Super Saiyan form his Father used to talk about? The power he felt surging through was amazing and he was smiling to himself. Instinctively, he released his form and glanced at Goten and Tenten who still watched him in amazement.

"Are you okay?" Hh asked Goten and Tenten, both nodded but still looked shocked.

"Let's go back before they find out what we did here." They were both nodded again and started to make a silent retreat before anyone finds out what they did.

But they were wrong for thinking they went unnoticed from their mothers. The two mothers had been waiting for them from the other side of the door and their wrathful scold roared around the palace that evening. They were shivering because of the water and were sitting in front of the fireplace, covered in warm towels.

Tenten didn't stop scolding the two for making her involved in an unwanted commotion when the two puffed their cheeks saying nothing, silently admitting that it was their fault. The lively scene brought a smile to Ox King's face; he turned his attention back to the two women who were still complaining how naughty they were.

"Isn't it nice to have them curious?" Ox King laughed as he tried to calm the two women down. "You're making quite a lot of troubles too when you're a kid, Chichi."

Chichi flustered when he mentioned her past but quickly retorted, "I know that, Dad! It's just hard to handle them when Gohan isn't around," she sighed, "I wish Goku is here to see them growing up too…"

Bulma patted her back before putting her arm on her shoulder, "I'm sure Goku watched them from heaven, Chichi. You're doing a great job raising them."

"Thank you, Bulma. You too." She responded with a smile.

"Yeah, you two are doing a great job as Saiyan's mothers. Aside from being a little menace, they're good kids. It won't be long until they're strong enough to defend the Earth." Ox King added while glancing at the sneezing kids. They were asking each other if they had anybody talking about them.

"Well, I don't think I want them to follow Goku's path to become warriors. They should go to a good school, become scholars, get a good career and earn a good salary," Chichi retorted before taking a sip of her tea. "I don't want them battle just like Gohan did several years ago. I couldn't bear to see them like that…"

Ox King leaned forward and put his hand on her shoulder, "You couldn't deny the fact they inherit warrior's blood, Chichi. They would have to fight when they needed to; especially since Goku is no longer around now."

"But Dad!"

"Your mother…" He cut her, "… would agree with me. She hated fight as much as you do, but if it's necessary, she wouldn't think twice to sacrifice her life for it."

The mention of her mother silenced Chichi. Bulma remembered seeing her photo on the entrance yet she never heard any story about the queen of the Fire Mountain. "If it's okay with you, can you please tell me more about your wife?"

Ox King grinned, "Of course, we have so much time for that." He stood from his seat when he noticed the kids fell asleep in front of the fireplace. "But before that, let me take the kids to their bed chamber," he said as he took the kids easily in his arms. He tucked them inside the blanket and smiled at their angelic faces.

"Ranran, I bet you proud to have them grow up as a warrior, right?" he said to himself, hoping his wife could hear what he said. He turned off the lamp as he left the room, took a last glance before leaving them.

"Sleep well, kids."

The window remained open as the gentle wind dancing its way inside the room. The wind stroked the kids' sleeping faces, slightly blew their hairs. And as if they were having sweet dreams, the kids were smiling innocently in their sleep.

* * *

 _AN: And that's how Trunks attained his Super Saiyan form (in my version). XD Please tell me what you think about the story! Favorite, follow, vote and review are appreciated!_

 _Thank you StarAF938 and Lorena for your review as always~ I hope you can enjoy the change I made in this chapter._


	5. 05: The Punk Heads

**The Mischievous Warriors**

 ** _Disclaimer: Dragon Ball © Akira Toriyama, Shuheisha, Inc._**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 5: The Punk Heads_**

* * *

The Ox King village was holding a summer festival and launched several fireworks that illuminated the night sky. The exploding sounds that echoed in the sky immediately turned the kids' curious head to the window. Ox King told them about the festival, soon running in circle, asking the giant man to bring them there while the mothers scolded them to stop pestering Ox King. However, Ox King couldn't say no and sighed in defeat when he had three pairs of the most transfixing innocent eyes.

Trunks, Goten and Tenten went crazy when they see so many stands in the festival: cotton candy, okonomiyaki, and so many game stands. They spotted a goldfish scooping corner where they could take as many goldfish as they wanted as long as they caught them with a paper scoop. Trunks and Goten said it was a small game for them, however, they gave up ten scoops later because they got impatient. Tenten on the other hand, managed to caught one on her second attempt. She showed off her trophy with a smirk, silently boasting her successful attempt and made them pout.

The three enjoyed their night so much but nobody knew that something would happen that night and Tenten's life was going to change forever…

Holding her mother's hand, Tenten sauntered to a pet shop when she spotted a glass aquarium filled with a group of Roborovski hamsters. She squealed at the sight and went inside, giggling when she stroked their soft furs.

"Mommy, they're so fluffy!" she said as she snuggled her cheek to the little mammal.

"Do you want to buy one, Tenten?" Chichi asked with a smile, petting one herself.

Tenten shook her head in respond as she returned the hamster into its cage. "I have Mr. Goldfish now so I don't want to buy another for now."

Chichi carried her in her arms as they observed the animals in the pet shop one by one. Tenten's eyes fell on a transparent box with praying mantis inside and enthusiastically pointed at the box. "Mommy, what is that?"

Glancing at her daughter with puzzled look, Chichi wondered why her daughter didn't show any symptoms of Insectophobia like her future-self did. "That's a praying mantis," Chichi answered, "They were named like that because their forearms are folded as if they're praying."

Tenten giggled and said, "I can see that. Isn't it cute, Mommy?"

Chichi raised an eyebrow at her daughter's remark. Future Trunks did say that there were slight differences between present and future so she wondered it affected her daughter's phobia as well. Honestly, Chichi was glad if she didn't fear for bugs because her future-self almost destroyed their kitchen when a cockroach flying passed her.

"Yes, it is," Chichi simply answered as she headed to the shop entrance but noticed that the boys weren't anywhere to see. "Where are the boys? We need to go home now because it's almost your bed time," Chichi asked as she looked around for black and purple heads.

"I'll go look for them, Mommy," Tenten said as Chichi put her down.

Tenten was turning her head left and right, walking pass a 'Staff Only' area then stepped back when she saw a glimpse of purple inside it. Trunks' hair color was special that she could easily found him. Tenten frowned when she noticed the boys were rummaging the sealed area, frowning deeper when Goten took one of the jar and shook it, making the baby spiders inside panic. She shook her head and slapped the back of his head.

"Goten! What do you think you are doing?" she snarled.

Goten jumped out of his skin at his sister's voice, rubbing his chest to calm his heart down. "D-don't just come and scare me, Tenten!" he pouted. "Anyway, look at these spiders! They're running around when I shake the jar!" so he shook the jar again.

"Put them back to where it belongs, Goten! You're scaring them!" she yelled as she placed her hands on her waist.

"No, I want to play with it!" He held the jar to his chest.

"Put-them-back!" Tenten stressed her words.

But Goten moved his body slightly so Tenten couldn't approach the jar, so Tenten scooted and snatched the jar, only to have Goten holding it even more firmly.

"Put them back, Goten!"

"No, I won't!"

Goten's hand slipped and he accidentally open the jar. The scared spiders were taking their chance to run for their life and crawling over Tenten's body. The girl shrieked as loud as she could when the spiders slipped inside her clothes. She slapped her body in panic, jumping on the spot while she attempting to drop the spiders.

Trunks moved in flash when he heard her voice and screamed, "What's happening?" while Goten widened his eyes in terror. He shifted his attention to Tenten and mimicked Goten's expression.

"Get it away from me! Get it away from me!" Tenten screamed as she couldn't take the tingling sensation of their furry legs any further. When her nerve taken the toll, she lost her balance and fell, finding it hard to breathe as fear coiled on her chest.

Trunks moved to her side and clamped the spiders as fast as he could. "Don't move, Tenten! I couldn't take it if you don't stop moving!" he ordered when she wiggled. "Goten! Give me a hand here!" he shouted, making Goten snapped from his reverie and joined in.

Chichi ran to their place when she heard her daughter's scream, followed by the pet shop staff. "Tenten! What's hap–" she failed to resume her words when she saw spiders crawling on Tenten's body with Trunks and Goten picking it up. Chichi couldn't handle insects, but her daughter's tears made her forget that as she jumped in to helped the boys catching the spiders from Tenten's body.

Trunks caught the last one as he wiped Tenten's tears with his thumb. "There, there, Tenten. It's okay now. I think this is the last one," he assured.

Tenten's body jolted every now and then because she still felt the formication – subconsciously recalled the feeling when the spiders swarmed her. Chichi brought her to toilet room to checked if Tenten was cleared from the spiders. Chichi brought her in her arms when they done, but Tenten was still crying.

Trunks sighed when Chichi's attempt to calm her down didn't work, then saw her goldfish bag on the corner so he took it and gave it to her. "Hey, Tenten. Let's go home and give your new fish home, okay?" he said, hoping that was enough to distract her mind from the spiders.

Tenten glanced at the goldfish and nodded. "Y-yeah, let's go home," she sobbed, "T-thank you, Trunks…" and he responded with a smile.

Goten waited for them outside the pet shop with Ox King. The furious Chichi pulled Goten's ear with one hand still carrying Tenten and shouted, "Goten! Look at what you've done to Tenten!"

"I didn't mean to do it, Mom!" he defended.

"You're the one who created this mess even if you didn't mean it! Make sure you apologize to her later and do something nice in return! Are you listening to me, son?"

"Yeah, yeah," Goten pouted with puffed cheeks.

* * *

Several days after the pet shop incident, Goten happily bounced with a plastic cage, an insect net and a honey jar to catch a stag beetle. Trunks had challenged him to see who catch the bigger stag beetle. Chichi had warned him to never bring the insect close to Tenten because she couldn't get over the incident back in the summer festival.

Goten couldn't brush his guiltiness, especially since Tenten jolted in her dreams and crying in the middle of the night because of the memory. He had apologized right after they went home that day, but hadn't done anything nice to pay his mistake. He went to the living room and set himself below the air conditioner to cool himself before going outside. It was the beginning of June and the weather couldn't get any hotter. When Goten went to the main door, he saw Tenten's fish bowl next to the window and directly exposed to the sunray.

He flashed his toothy grin when an idea popped in his mind.

Finally, he had something nice he could do to his sister.

* * *

After the conversation Chichi had with her father back when she stayed in the castle, she decided to train both Goten and Tenten the basic of Martial Arts. She agreed that she couldn't stop her children from fighting because they inherited warrior's bloodline not only from Goku's side but from her side as well.

The first time she asked them to spare was one of the funniest moment she ever saw. Goten and Tenten ended up jumping around like dancing instead of fighting. She recorded the whole event with the video camera she won from the bingo game in Bulma's birthday party last year. However, they spared like real fighters on the second day. Their body remembered the techniques she taught as natural as breathing. That aside, Goten's resemblance to Goku and Tenten's resemblance to her reminded her of the day when she insisted on Goku's promise to marry her.

Chichi began to wonder how her mother fight back in her younger year. She didn't remember her mother because her mother passed away not long after she was born. The topic only brought tears to her father so she never brought it up. It was painful for her to see her father's longing expression. That was why he surprised her when he told her and Bulma so many stories about her mother back when they stayed in his castle. It was the first time he was open about it and she certainly pleased to know more about her mother.

That aside, Chichi wondered if Goku managed to meet her mother in heaven. She even had the ridiculous idea to die once to see her mother. The only thing that made her feel connected to her mother was the lullaby his father always sang for her. Ox King said that Lanlan was the one who introduced him to the song and she sang it every day for Chichi. She passed it to her children and proud to see Tenten's future-self singing the same song for the babies when she was here.

Her children panted breath brought her back to the reality. They were sprawling on the ground, lazily bickering about who was the best between them. Chichi chuckled at the sight and took out a capsule, revealing a mini fridge that contained some refreshments for the kids. They happily approached the fridge and finished their drink in one go like no tomorrow.

The kids were riding the Flying Nimbus after training. Goten sat on the front while Tenten sat behind him, hands holding Goten's waist firmly. They screamed their exhilaration when the golden cloud somersaulting on the sky and Chichi couldn't help but recalling the day when she met Goku for the first time.

Chichi was pretending to be a damsel in distress to gain Goku's attention. As silly as it seemed, it was a fruitful effort because she loved the life Goku granted for her. She was proud with her children. Gohan excelled his studies and had uttered his wish to become a scientist. He was a good son and a good brother for the twins. They were quite an opposite because Goten was very naïve while Tenten was very cunning. When they were still a baby, Goten shown to develop motor skill faster than Tenten while the girl developed her speaking skill faster. She was smarter than Goten because the boy prone to be air-headed a lot of time. However, Tenten was much more mature than Goten.

They were getting along well so far and rarely fighting.

She had to stressed the 'rarely' though…

"Mommy, do you see my goldfish?" Tenten asked as she scanned the kitchen for the hint of her fish bowl.

Chichi was washing her dishes when her daughter came. "I saw it on the table in living room this morning. Have you checked it there?"

"Yeah, but it's gone. I couldn't find it anywhere, Mommy…" She sulked as she plopped on the chair in the dining room.

Chichi sighed as she put away her apron. "Okay, let's look for it together. We should be able to find it since this house is small," she assured with a wink. However, she couldn't keep her word because after spending an hour looking for it together, they couldn't find it.

Tenten was sulking on the couch with sullen face, holding the pillow close to her chest. Chichi decided to postpone their search because she had to go back to her cooking. However, she was curious to the fish bowl whereabouts because there was no way something as stood out as the fish bowl disappear from their small hut for no reason.

The clock struck six and Chichi peeked from the kitchen when she heard subtle knocks coming from the entrance door. Goten happily bounced, hand holding a transparent box with a stag beetle inside it.

"I'm home!" He said while putting away his collecting nets to the side and happily carried his stag beetle inside the house.

"Welcome back Goten, how's your day?"

"I found this stag beetle near the forest! Take a look Mom! I used the honey to lure him just like the way you told me!" Goten lifted the box to showed her his new pet.

"Good job, Goten!" she said as she stroked his head, "But since it's almost dinnertime, I want you to put it away and wash your hand."

"Okay, Mom!"

Chichi was stirring the soup when she heard another knock. "Tenten, can you check the door for me? Your grandpa should be arriving anytime now."

"Sure Mommy." She went to the entrance door and her mirthful laughter confirmed who the guest was. Ox King peeked from the kitchen's window with Tenten waving from his shoulder as Chichi waved back at her.

The fire mountain ruler entered the house with Goten throwing himself to his feet. The twins were pulling him to sit on the 'golden seat'. It was the chair made by Ox King himself; Gohan and the twins could easily fit in the chair because it was really big.

"Tenten, guess what! I found a stag beetle this big!" He beamed while using both of his small hand to making a precision of the stag beetle size.

Tenten wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Yuck! Do you bring the stag beetle home?"

"Yeah! He's going to stay together with us from now on!" He nodded happily while throwing his taunting smirk towards Tenten.

"Whatever, make sure it stays where it is. I _hate_ insects!"

Sighing, Chichi continued serving the foods on the table. Her future daughter never told her the history on how she hated the insects to begin with. Tenten must be fated to hate insects after all.

"But you love butterfly!"

"That's because they're cute and beautiful, unlike the other insects."

"So are stag beetles!"

Chichi intervened the twins before they start their quarrel again. "Hey, calm down both of you! Save it until you finish your dinner!"

"Okay, Mom…" both responded.

The dinner went in peace. Tenten was talking about random things she did during summer while Goten busied himself with the meal. Chichi was reporting Gohan's progress on his study to her father and he suggested them to come again to his castle after Gohan returned from his Summer Camp. Chichi nodded in agreement. It was a great idea since Gohan hadn't visit his father's castle for quite a while. When Tenten opened a jar contained candy, Chichi remembered she had prepared for them.

"Goten, Tenten. I made strawberry ice cream for both of you. Do you want them now?"

"Cool, Mom! We want it now!" Goten beamed, followed by Tenten's gleeful smile.

The two followed Chichi to the refrigerator to help their mother bringing the desserts to the table. However, Chichi froze on her spot when she opened the freezer, not because of the cold temperature but because she saw something she didn't expect to see inside it.

Beside the strawberry ice cream she made for the kids was a frozen fishbowl with the goldfish froze in the middle. She craned her head to see her twins, waiting for the desserts with glittering eyes. Now she knew why she couldn't find the fish. She was looking for it in any _possible_ places and she would never think about looking for it inside the fridge, and she knew exactly who did it.

She crouched to the twins' eye level. Sighing, she gazed at the girl and said, "Tenten, listen…"

"What is it, Mommy?" She tilted her head in question.

"I found your goldfish," she finally said, glancing at Goten with the corner of her eyes, noticing the boy was losing the colors of his face.

"Really? Where is he?"

Chichi took the fish bowl from the freezer and showed it to Tenten. Clamping her mouth in horror, she gasped when she saw the dewy aquarium bowl. Ox King widened his eyes and exchanging looks with Chichi.

"N-No! Mr. Fish! What's happening!? Why is it inside the fridge!?" Her eyes started to water when she took the fish bowl from her mother's hand.

Meanwhile, Goten tried to make a silent escape from the situation, tiptoeing towards the door.

"Goten, where are you going?" Chichi asked with nuance of authority mustered in her voice.

"I… I-I have to feed my stag beetle." He smiled sheepishly.

"Are you the one who put Tenten's goldfish inside the freezer?" Chichi asked again.

Tenten whipped her head towards Goten, eyebrows knitted in a deep frown and sheer rage visible in her face.

"… No! It wasn't me!" Goten defending himself.

"It's you, Goten! There's no other person who could do this but you!" Tenten glared at him.

"It wasn't me!" Goten insisted.

"Don't lie, Goten!"

"I told you it wasn't me!"

Eyes brimming with tears, Tente's hair billowed around her. Chichi gazed at her when she felt the air pressure around them changed.

"LIE!" she screamed. Unleashing her power, her hair turned blonde and her eyes color morphed into turquoise one. Both Chichi and Ox King's legs wobbled and they fell to the floor.

Goten was taken aback by his sister's change, but didn't let it overwhelmed him. "I told you… I DIDN'T DO IT!" His hair spiked and become blonde.

The two emitting powerful energy that sent the whole house in turmoil. Glasses and plates were falling and shattered on the concrete floor, sounds of falling objects echoed all around the house.

Shifting into fighting stance, Tenten glared at Goten and challenged him. "Let's settle this Goten, man up and admit if you lose!"

Goten smirked and did the same. "Here I go, Tenten!"

But before the two collided into a fight, Chichi stepped in between them and hit both of their head with her fists until large bump grew on their head, "STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU!"

Putting their hands over their bump, they were crouching in the floor but still in their Super Saiyan form.

"Ouch! Mommy! That's hurt!" Tenten pouted.

"If you wish to destroy the whole house then do it! But both of you can sleep in the forest!" She shouted. She took a deep breath for a moment, mustering the strength she had for another sentence, "And most importantly… Don't change yourself into a PUNK! Do you want to be _delinquents_!? Don't even think about coming back here if you dare to become one!" Chichi's high-pitched voice roared around the house while her father covered his ears.

Her words were enough to silence the twins. Shifting back to their original forms, they nodded and went back to their respective seat, refusing to look at each other's face. Chichi served them the desserts and they ate silently without evidence of blissfulness they originally showed. She told her father the cause of the whole commotion, making the Fire Mountain ruler let out an amused laugh. He patted Tenten on her shoulder, motioning her to follow him to the living room to comfort her in his lap. He promised her he would bring her to buy the new one tomorrow.

Chichi glanced at her boy, noticing a remorse expression on his face before he ran outside the house. Sighing, she followed him and saw him drawing on the ground with the dried branch that fell around the willow tree. Chichi squatted beside him and saw him drawing five heads. She could distinguish the draws as the picture of their family. Two bigger heads belonged to Goku and her while the smaller three belonged to him, Gohan and Tenten. She glanced at him again, noticing melancholic expression had replaced his sunny one. She had to admit Goten was kind of rebelled a lot lately and she was wondering why.

"Son, do you have something you want to talk about?" she asked.

He moved his branch to Goku's head, slowly drawing the mouth and ears, he asked, "Mom, why Dad have to leave us?"

Blinking, she took a moment observing his face before she replied, "Well you know the story, right? Your father had to save the Earth and he sacrificed his life for that. You're a proud son of warrior, Goten."

"He's not a warrior. He's only a selfish man." He pouted.

"Why do you think that way?"

"He have people hailed his name as a hero for his own satisfaction, right? He never thinks about me and Tenten! Didn't he want to stay longer and play with us instead leaving us here!?"

 _'So that's the reason'_ , she thought. Smiling, she put her arm around his shoulder and brought him closer to her. Goten glanced at her when she rested her face on his spiky hair.

"That's not true at all, Goten. If you see how your father saw you two when you were born, you'd never think that way." She said.

"When we were born?"

"He wished he could be the one that protect his two little birds until you two strong enough to bring the sky under your wings, Goten," she said while stroking his hair. "But warrior's ways are cruel. He didn't have much choice at that time and you're wrong about him having people hailed his name as a hero, Goten."

"Then what did he get by sacrificing himself!?"

"A peaceful world for you and Tenten to live in," she answered without hesitation.

Goten widened his eyes and immediately fell silence. He didn't respond anything for a moment so Chichi spoke again, "So, back to Tenten. Do you have anything to tell me?"

"…I-it wasn't on purpose… I thought the day was so hot. I thought I could help the fish feel better by putting it inside the fridge. I just want to put it for a moment, but I totally forgot about it…" He sobbed, clenching his little fists.

She smiled and gently held Goten, "Do you feel sorry about it?"

Goten nodded.

"Then you have to apologize to Tenten."

"B-but…" he stuttered at the Chichi's suggestion.

"No but, what's been done is done. You have to admit and apologize. You have to be responsible with your own deeds." When he nodded in understanding, Chichi smiled and kissed his forehead.

"That's my good boy. Let's change you into your pajama. It's almost your bedtime…"

* * *

Wearing her pajama suit, Tenten was reading 'Journey to the West' storybook. She still upset about her goldfish so she needed something to distract her from the thought. She peered from her storybook when she heard a subtle knock on her door, narrowed her eyes when she saw Goten stood on her door, remorse expression visible on his face. She scowled deeper and took her blanket to tuck herself inside it.

"Tenten…" her twin called her.

"What is it?"

"I-I was the one who put your goldfish inside the freezer. I did it because I thought the weather is hot, and I'm afraid the goldfish couldn't stand it. So… I put it inside the freezer, but I totally forgot about it…" Goten was trying his best to stifle his tears, but when one drop rolled on his face, the rest soon followed.

"I-I'm really sorry that I killed Mr. Goldfish…" he sobbed.

Tenten propped herself off from her bed when she heard him sobbing, glancing at her twin brother. Sighing, she opened her blanket and slightly tilted her head, beckoning him to come over. Smearing his tears, Goten immediately scooted towards her bed and had Tenten cuddled him to sooth him calm.

"It's okay… We'll pray for Mr. Goldfish's soul tonight so he could swim freely in heaven," she told Goten. The boy was smiling gleefully and held her back.

"Thank you for forgiving me, Ten."

"Thank you for admitting it, Goten."

Giggling together, they were chattering until they were overwhelmed by drowsiness. Chichi peered from the door and smiled at the sight. She approached them and put the blanket that fell on their waists up to their shoulders before kissing their foreheads.

"They're grown up so fast, aren't they? Goku…"

* * *

 _AN: Yup! This chapter is mostly about Chichi's memories about Goku because the twins reminded her of Goku and her back when they were young. Also, the story why the twins could change into Super Saiyan according to my version._

 _Thank you **Lorena** and **Star AF938** for your kind reviews as usual! I'm really sorry for not updating sooner!_

 _LOL~ Lorena, I'm so happy to know that you're reading my other title! I'm still working for the concept for the next chapter since the battle began on chapter 4, but yeah… I'm really sucks at describing fighting scene. LOL~ But stay tune! Thank you so much for reading it!_

 _Favorites, follows and reviews are highly appreciated like usual!_


	6. 06: Dalmatian Doll

**The Mischievous Warriors**

 ** _Disclaimer: Dragon Ball © Akira Toriyama, Shuheisha, Inc._**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 6: Dalmatian Doll_**

* * *

Pouring the tea to her cup, she added some condensed milk before stirring it. She brought her cup and sauntered towards the window, glancing at the newly built factory on their yard. It was raining cats and dogs outside. People chose to shelter themselves from the massive droplets of water that was continuously pouring outside. It was nine in the morning, but the leaden sky didn't show any trace of light. The meetings scheduled for that day had to be cancelled because of the bad weather and she had nothing to do now.

She sipped her tea, finishing almost half of the content before setting it aside and took her precious doll from her couch. Holding the doll close to her chest, she reminisced the day when she received the doll, followed by the turmoil it caused. The reel of memory, however, disrupted when a pair of strong arms holding her from her back. She yelped because she didn't sense the approaching Ki and craned her head to see her husband.

"Don't you think you're too old for a doll, Honey?"

Her lips stretched into an offended smirk, pinching his nose as hard as she could while saying, "I'll play with it _whenever_ I want to. Besides…," she stared at the doll again, "I love recalling what you and that silly brother of mine had done to it." However, she had another reason why she cherished the doll so much.

"Please don't bring that story up again…" He cringed.

Softly laughing at him, she retorted, "Why not? I was so amused when I found out the reason you did this. And he…" She bitterly chuckled, "…he even remembered to confess it during his last breath." Her eyes fell to the ground.

The bitter memory promptly erased her smile and he disliked making her remember it, especially today. He turned her around so she fully faced him. Lifting up her chin, he said, "Talking about the doll, you got it on this very day, didn't you?"

She rolled her eyes for a moment. "This very day?"

He shook his head disbelievingly. "Honey, I can't believe you're reminding me about the meetings today yet you forgot what day today is."

She widened her eyes when the realization hit her. But before she could say anything, his lips already captured hers in a sweet deep kiss. When he retracted his lips, he rested his forehead on hers and whispered, "Happy birthday, dear wife…"

She giggled and put her arms around his neck. "Birthday greeting won't be enough to indulge me, dear husband."

Smirking, he presented a bouquet of red roses from his back and made her squeal.

"You do know how to surprise me, don't you?"

He kissed her cheek. "Well I am, always," he responded, "But, that's not the only thing you're going to get today."

She arched a sly brow at him, smirking. "Hmm… Generous, aren't you?"

"I am, always." He mimicked her smirk.

* * *

Chichi carried the 'Long-Life' Fried Noodles outside her house, soon greeted by Yamcha who took the plate from her hand and placed it on the serving table. The noodle was only one of many menus she cooked for Goten and Tenten's birthday party. She baked a two-layered cake with two birds on the top, one pink and one blue to represent the twins. She chose the bird's decoration simply because the twins were her and Goku's little birds.

She wiped sweat carefully so it wouldn't ruin her make-up. A gentle pat on her shoulder turned her head around to see Bulma. Chichi immediately greeted her with a warm welcoming hug and soon started their chattering. She caught a glimpse of Tenten chasing Pu'Ar from the corner of her eyes. The blue cat was turning itself into various objects to entertain the little girl. Her innocent smile reminded Chichi of her future counterpart, suddenly wondered how her matured daughter celebrated her birthday in the future.

Chichi met her three years ago when she came to reported their victory against the androids and Cell, and it was the last time she saw her. Future Tenten looked stunning and glowing with happiness, smiling a lot more than she did during her previous trip to the past. Chichi had to thank future Trunks for what he had done and Chichi wished the present Trunks and Tenten would get along like their future counterparts did.

"Ouch! Trunks! Why are you pulling my hair!?" The black haired girl glared at the lavender-haired boy with intense fiery eyes that could melt objects.

"Sorry, I thought it was a pork bun so I'm thinking about taking a bite," he sneered while keeping his hand on her springy hair bun. She slapped his hand away and they were bickering again.

Chichi deeply sighed, decided that it would take years before they got along. Bulma sheepishly laughed beside her, probably thinking the same thing.

Yamcha re-appeared with two bags in his hands and handed them both to Bulma. The blue-haired scientist called the twins who obediently came with glittery eyes when they saw Bulma taking out the beautifully wrapped presents from the bags. They happily bounced as they received the gifts, thanking Bulma with minimum ten sets of "Thank you" as they impatiently unwrapped the presents.

Goten got a plane radio control he always wanted while Tenten got a Dalmatian doll. Screaming ecstatically, Goten boasted his present to the smiling Trunks who helped him set it up so they could float the plane. Tenten cuddled the doll close to her chest, nuzzling her face against it soft fur and soon enough, there were only her and the doll in the world.

* * *

The seven years old Trunks had mastered how to fly and from that day onwards, he no longer needed his mother's assistance to visit the twins. He was so ecstatic with his new ability that he visited the Son's residence to play with the twins, specifically Goten. The boys were shown to passionately love fighting that they always play-fight to see who was stronger. Trunks was slightly stronger than Goten and managed to defeat Goten in every match. The two had a 'gentlemen agreement' to never hit a girl so they asked Tenten to become a referee instead. Trunks searched for Tenten and found her in the living room, playing with the Dalmatian doll his mother gave for her.

"Tenten, we're going to play-fight and we need you as our referee, so let's go!" Trunks stated, settling both of his arms on the couch she sat on.

"Start before me, Trunks. I'll join you two later," Tenten responded without turning her eyes to him.

Slightly disappointed, he vaguely nodded and said, "…Okay." He was leaving the room, deprived of the spirit he had before she rejected him and left without words.

Hours had passed since Trunks and Goten started their play-fight. Trunks was surprised when he found out Goten was able to turn into Super Saiyan like he did. He widened his eyes when Goten confirmed that Tenten could do it as well – excited to see her changing herself because he never saw a female Super Saiyan. The boys decided that their fight would be even more interesting in their divine forms, so they did and Trunks won the fight again – much to Goten's disappointment. The two released their forms and panted for breath. They had fought for more than ten rounds, but Tenten never showed up. Trunks glanced at Goten, silently asked the question but Goten just shrugged.

Peeking through the window, both eyes flattened when they saw Tenten still playing with her doll. They didn't understand how she was so obsessed with the doll because they saw nothing interesting about the dumb-looking doll. They decided to be mature and let her play with it.

But Trunks was running out of patience when she still ignored him a week later.

He peeked through the window, witnessing Tenten treating the doll like her baby. A vein popped on Trunks' temple when she said, "There, there, baby. You're all better now. I love you!" He reached his limit and he needed to get rid of the doll as soon as possible. He was composing his plan as he walked to Goten's room to fetch his partner in crime.

Opening the door to Goten's room, his lips twitched when he saw how messy the room was. His room wasn't neat either, but at least it wasn't as messy as Goten's. The black haired boy was currently reading his comic book, literally laughing on the floor laughing. Trunks accidentally crashed one of Goten's bricks when he entered the room and Goten shifted his glance to him at the cracking sound.

"What is it, Trunks?"

"Say, Goten," he said as he scooted towards Goten, "Aren't you bothered by how Tenten no longer pay attention to us?"

Goten promptly lost his smile at the topic. "Of course I am. Ever since she got that stupid doll, she hardly plays with me. Furthermore, she no longer read storybooks for me. Tenten always did before we sleep, but now," he shook his head, "…she'd go straight to her room."

Trunks lifted an eyebrow at this. "She reads storybooks for you?"

Goten nodded, "Yeah, she reads better than I do." He then took one of the storybooks near him. The storybook had more kanji than the one Trunks usually read himself and he was amazed that Tenten able to read the book. "I asked my grandpa to buy this for me because the pictures are cool, but I can't read the kanji, so Tenten asked Mom to teach her so she could read the book for me."

Trunks wanted to laugh at the fact Tenten acted like an older sister even though she was born after Goten. Trunks often argued with Tenten because her 'stick to the rule' policy' and that was why Goten often mediated them because he was much more carefree. That aside, Tenten looked up to her mother so much that she followed everything her mother did, including looking after Goten when her mother or Gohan wasn't around.

That aside, Trunks was happy that he could pull Goten into his plan. "So, don't you want her to read the storybooks for you again?"

"Of course!" Goten affirmed with a hint of frustration in his tone.

Trunks smirked at this. He wiggled his hand, beckoning Goten to move closer. "Then lend me your ear, Goten. I have a smart plan for that…"

* * *

Tenten was having a tea time with her doll. Pouring the imaginary liquid to the doll's cup then hers, she peacefully sipped her tea. The serene moment, however, was gone the moment Goten slammed her door open and said, "T-Tenten… Can you help me with something?"

"You're ruining my tea time, Goten. What is it?"

"…I dropped Mom's laundry," he gulped, "All of them."

Widening her eyes in horror, she sprang from her seat. "Y-you you you what!?"

Guiltily biting his bottom lip, he reiterated again, "I accidentally hit the stick and dropped all the blankets and sheets."

Groaning in frustration, she rammed her feet and grabbed Goten by his collar. "I can't believe you, Goten! Don't you know how Mom and I working this morning to wash all of that!"

"I'm… sorry?" Goten sheepishly responded.

Tenten scoffed then pulled Goten with her. "You're going to help me redo the laundries! All of them!" she hollered while Goten stealthily flashed his thumb towards the window.

When they left the room, Trunks slid the window open then vaulted inside. He took out a black marker from his pocket. Looming the Dalmatian doll, he took the marker's cap off and said, "This is it for you, dolly… You're wrong if you think you could steal her away from me…" He laughed evilly.

* * *

Sighing in exasperation, Tenten trudged towards her room. She felt extremely tired since she had to do the laundry twice that day – thanks to Goten. She glanced at the clock and sighed in relief because she managed to get it done before her mother finished with her monthly shopping. Her mother wouldn't mad at her if she told her Goten did it, but she hated to see Goten in trouble. Sometimes, she wanted to leave it and let Goten shouldered his own mistakes. However, every time Goten cried, she felt like she wanted to cry herself and it was a troublesome feeling.

She ecstatically bounced her way to her room now that she finished with the laundry. She loved her doll so much. The face was round and the dog made a frowning expression. Moreover, it had a pair of blue eyes that made it somewhat resembled Trunks, like the dog version of Trunks. She clamped her mouth with her hands to suppress her giggle.

Turning her doorknob, she ecstatically greeted her doll. "Hello, puppy! Sorry to make you w- Kyaaaaaa!" She shrieked and stumbled backwards. She immediately turned around to escape her room, only to be caught by Goten.

"What's wrong Tenten?"

She pointed towards her doll with a shaky finger and screamed, "The doll! My doll! It has spiders all over!" Terror overtook her face as she saw spiders scattered all over her doll. She hugged Goten and hid her face on his chest. "Please get them off from it!"

Both Trunks and Goten had to bit their bottom lip to stifle the laugh that almost escaped their mouths because they weren't real spiders. Trunks was the one to draw the spider legs all over the black spots on the doll's body and they had to admit the spiders looked authentic from their current position.

Becoming her knight in shining armor, Trunks leaped forward and threw the doll with all his might, doubled with his determination to get rid of the doll and made it vanished into the sky. Proudly grinning, he placed both of his hands on his waist and said, "There. Tenten! I already got rid of it!"

"Really?" She peered from Goten's arms.

"Yeah, it's all good now." Trunks winked at her, flashing a buoyant finger at her.

She released her arms from Goten and leaped towards Trunks to wrap her arms around him. "Thank you Trunks! You're my hero…"

Blushing, Trunks didn't anticipate her to reacted like this but it was a brilliant outcome. He immediately returned her hug while saying, "You're welcome."

Face scrunched in disgust, Goten leaped and pulled Tenten off from him. "Trunks! Let go of her!"

Trunks glared at him for disturbing his beautiful moment and immediately grabbed her arm to hold her in place. "Go away and let me enjoy my moment, Goten!"

"Hey, stop that!" Tenten screamed.

"Tenten is my sister, don't touch her!" Goten shouted while pulling her towards him.

"She's my girlfriend, Goten!" He confidently stated, making the twins twitched their lips.

"I know what girlfriend is, Trunks! Don't you dare!" He pointed a threatening finger at Trunks.

Tenten was laughing when she recalled Goten's expression when Gohan explained the real definition of 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend'. Goten put two and two together and blushing hard when he proudly stated that Trunks was his boyfriend. Whenever Gohan or Chichi accidentally brought the story up again, Goten would be sulking and locked himself in his room.

"D-don't laugh, Tenten!" He flustered while keep pulling her towards him.

"Then stop pulling me! You two! Hands off me!" She commanded.

The boys complied. "Sorry, Tenten…"

Tenten sighed. "I will play with both of you so both of you don't have to fight over me, okay?"

Toothy grinned adorned the two boys' faces. They held her hand and soon dragged her outside the house to play-fight. The boys were exchanging glances and bumped their fists when Tenten didn't see.

* * *

The bushes were rustling when he walked through them, looking for an object that might be hidden in between. He was on his way home from and decided to pick the object up before it lost forever. He smiled when he found what he had been looking for. Holding up the Dalmatian doll, he dusted it a little and said, "I'm sorry Tenten didn't want you anymore because of me, but I'm going to keep you now since I owe you a favor." He took the doll with him and flew back to his home.

* * *

Walking to her room after dinner, Tenten plopped on her bed, pondering how the spiders made their way into her room. She had asked Bulma to helped her developing an anti-bug device to prevent any bugs invaded her room. She sighed in exasperation, feeling agitated because of all the objects in her room, they had to colonized her favorite doll. She loved the doll so much that the thought of losing it made her stomach twisted. Ox King assured her that he'd look for the similar doll, but she only wanted that doll.

Tilting her head to the side of her bed, she blinked when she remembered something. She pushed the chair to her wardrobe and climbed on it to take the teddy bear plush from the top of the wardrobe. She turned the doll around and opened the zipper on its back, taking out a small spy camera. She discovered the plush amongst Bulma's invention when she visited her house. When she took the plush out of the curiosity, Bulma told her to just bring it home since she no longer needed it and Tenten happily accepted it. She deliberately set it in her room for her room surveillance and nobody but her knew about it.

She replayed the camera to see what was going on and widened her eyes when she saw Trunks entered her room through her window, scowling so deep when she saw him drawing the spiders over her doll. How could he do something like that to her favorite doll? What had she done to him to made him doing something like this to her? A vein popped on her temple and she was thinking about confronting him about this, but suddenly she recalled her grandfather's words to her.

 _"Boys tend to do something opposite to someone they like."_

Placing her index finger on her lips, she recalled the deeds he had done to her and realized that… he did all of that to get her attention. Didn't it mean he likes her? Smiling at the thought she replayed the video to see his absurdity for the second time. After that, she returned the camera to its original place and returned the doll to its spot. She decided to let him off for now, but she'd save the video for later use since it might be useful in the future.

* * *

 _AN: Thank you StarAF938 and Lorena for your review as always. And yeah Lorena, she read Journey to the West. XD I hope you didn't injure yourself from the impact! LOL_

 _I kind of doing a lot of updates since I finally get my day off for Christmas. I've been crazily busy lately because the office is going to have days off until new year. On this opportunity, I'd like to say Merry Christmas! Honestly, at the beginning of the year I hardly imagine myself writing fics and here I am. I never give a shot on writing but I ended up enjoying it. And it wouldn't be last without all of your supports so I'm really grateful for all favorites, follows and reviews from all of you. Thank you so much and hope you guys had a great holiday! XOXO_


	7. 07: Two Flying Birds

**The Mischievous Warriors**

 ** _Disclaimer: Dragon Ball © Akira Toriyama, Shuheisha, Inc._**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 7: Two Flying Birds_**

* * *

Chichi was organizing the coupons she collected from many magazines. Many people were throwing away the coupons without knowing how many expenses the papers could actually give. She saved most of the money so she could send Gohan to the university he was aiming and used the coupons to buy their living necessities. Gohan was applying for scholarships and she was certain he would get it because unlike his father, Gohan was really smart.

The sixteen-year-old Gohan was starting his life as high school student in Orange Star High School earlier that month. Her eldest son was riding the Nimbus Cloud so he wouldn't attract unnecessary attention. The twins were as excited as their brother; they were waiting for their brother's return every day because they wanted to know how it felt like to go to ordinary school. The twins excited by the stories, especially when Gohan told them that he secretly defeated the criminals in Metro City.

Chichi couldn't help but feeling bad for her kids. Both her and Bulma were afraid that they might not be able to control their power if they went to ordinary schools so they opted for home-schooling. Gohan was big enough and fully aware the necessity to hide his power, but the children weren't, especially Trunks and Goten who loved to show-off. Bulma had voiced the same worries about her son, but also said that she was sad to see Trunks grew up without schoolmates.

Trunks was coming to her house every day ever since he learned how to fly and she had to admit the ability was convenient. It would be nice if the twins could learn how to fly soon so she could ask them to go to Bulma's house and had the homeschooling together with Trunks so they would have schoolmates. Chichi widened her eyes at the realization – it was going to be convenient for the kids if they could learn how to fly. Should she ask Gohan to teach them soon?

The twins' laughter turned her head to the window and she smiled when she saw Gohan changed into the costume Bulma made for him for the umpteenth times.

"Goten, Tenten! Watch this!" Gohan stated as he made up another pose for his grand entrance.

"Brother, you look really cool!" the twins squealed as they watched him in awe.

Chichi was laughing to herself. Honestly, the poses Gohan made was cheesy but it was okay as long as Gohan enjoyed it. Gohan was pretty excited ever since he got the costume because he could save people without having to reveal his identity.

Despite being the strongest boy on Earth, Gohan was very down to earth. Chichi still remembered how Gohan confessed that it was his fault that Goku had to die. He let his new power overwhelmed his ego that he pushed Cell to the corner that Goku had to bring Cell to Kaioo's place that led Goku to his end. It was a big lesson for Gohan but her eldest son let the power overwhelmed him no more ever since.

She could see how Gohan tried his best to replace their father's place for the twins. He was doing a great job so far. Ever since his quarrel with Tenten, Goten never spoke about their father nor questioning Goku's presence ever since. However, Chichi never heard Tenten ask anything about Goku.

"Tenten? Yeah, now that you mention it… She never asks anything about Dad," Gohan said as he helped Chichi wiped the plates.

"I see… Future Tenten seems pretty close to Goku so I kind of expecting her present self to ask many questions about Goku," Chichi said.

"Isn't it better… if Tenten asks about Dad and blame me for—"

"Hush! Gohan, what are you talking about?" Chichi cut him and could see a deep anguish in his expression. "We're done with this topic, okay? No one blames you about Goku's death so stop blaming yourself about it."

"Okay, Mom…"

The two remained silence after that. Gohan excused himself to study while Chichi finished the rest of the house chores. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was close to ten o' clock so she turned off all the lights. She stretched her body to relief her muscle soreness and saw the light still on in the living room.

She went there and peeked through the opening gap and saw Tenten stood before Goku's altar. She was holding the doll that resembled Goku close to her chest then wiped her eyes with her pajama's sleeve.

"…so Goten and I can use nimbus cloud from now on since Brother can fly in his new costume from now on," she said. "Do you think, I can reach your place if I could fly, Daddy?"

Chichi clutched her chest at this.

"Trunks gave me this today to replace my missing doll," Tenten said as she raised Goku's doll to the altar, "He said that his grandpa introduces you as a superhero that saved the world more than once, even said that sadly it wasn't his father," she chuckled, "He found this doll amongst his old toys and decided to give it to me because I'm your daughter, so it's only right if I own this…"

"I cried outright and I feel bad because Trunks looked very guilty," she sobbed, "I always want to see you, Daddy… and I always want to know more about you. But I never ask because it'll make Mommy and Brother sad." She sobbed louder. "I want to see you, Daddy… I—"

"Oh, baby…" Chichi said as she finally broke into tears and rushed to Tenten's side.

Tenten visibly surprised by her mother's appearance and quickly wiped her tears. "M-mommy! Wh-when did you—"

Chichi pulled her daughter into a tight embrace and said, "It's okay, baby. From now on, you can ask me anything you want to know about your father."

"But, it's selfish, Mommy. I'll make you sad…"

"No, baby. I miss your father and it saddened me when I realize he's no longer around. But I never feel sad when I reminisce your father because," Chichi chuckled, "he never made me sad. With him, I found excitement every day," Chichi said as she wiped Tenten's tears with her thumbs.

"Really?"

"Yes, baby." Chichi scooped Tenten into her arms and sat on the couch with Tenten on her lap. "Listen… I'm very sorry if your brother and I made you feel like you're going to make us sad whenever you want to ask about your father. On the contrary, it saddened us when we thought you don't want to know anything about him."

Tenten still sobbed in her lap, shaking her head in disagreement while holding her father's doll closer to her. "I want to know him, Mom… I even want to see him if time machine exists," she said.

Chichi almost chuckled at her statement, knowing that her future self was as eager as her current Tenten when it came to seeing their father. "Yes, let's ask Bulma-san if she could make you one, okay?" Chichi said.

Smiling, Tenten wiped her tears to dry and rested her head on Chichi's chest. "I love you, Mommy."

"Love you too, baby," Chichi replied while stroking her daughter's hair, "How about sleeping with me tonight? I'll tell you everything you want to know about your father."

"Sure, Mommy!" she ecstatically answered.

Chichi didn't like her children sleeping too late, but she made an exception for Tenten that night. She told her daughter about her husband's adventure starting from the Dragon Ball's hunting with Bulma. However, there were too many stories to be finished in a span of a night.

"We'll continue tomorrow, baby. Sleep now, okay?" Chichi said as she patted her daughter.

"Okay, Mommy…" Tenten said as she closed her eyes. Deep within her heart, the little girl prayed to Shen Long so she could meet her father.

Days went by and Gohan was thrilled when Tenten started asking him many questions about Goku. Didn't want to lose any details of their father's heroic stories, Goten jumped in and asked more questions then bickered with Tenten when she punched him for pestering Gohan in the middle of his stories.

They were surprised, however, when Gohan came home the next day, face brighter than ever. Chichi inquired him to tell her what had happened during the day but he said he'd save it until the dinner time.

"I have an important news for all of you…" he said when they began their dinner.

"New girlfriend?" Tenten blurted.

"N-no, Tenten! Not yet!" Gohan stammered.

Tenten smirked at this. "Hmm… Not _yet_?"

"A-anyway," Gohan quivered to avoid the topic with a tint of magenta visible on his cheeks, "Mom, do you remember about Tenkaichi Budokai? They're going to hold the tournament again this year."

"Really? How nostalgic! That's the tournament I'm talking about, Tenten!" Chichi said as she ecstatically patted her daughter's shoulder.

"The one where Daddy proposed you?" Tenten asked.

"What is 'propose', Tenten?" Goten asked.

"It's when someone asks you to marry them, Goten," Tenten said.

"What's 'marry'?" Goten asked again.

Tenten sighed in annoyance. "What about the tournament, Brother?"

"Hey! Don't ignore me! Explain! Explain! Explain!" Goten pestered while pulling Tenten's sleeve.

"Don't pull my sleeve, Goten! Are you trying to tear it?" Tenten barked, pulling his hand from her sleeve.

"Mom! She's being mean to me!" Goten wailed.

"What? Now it's my fault? You're the one who pestering me since the beginning!"

"Cut it out you two! Goten, stop crying! So… what about the tournament, Gohan" Chichi said as she tore the twins apart to keep them from fighting.

"Uhm… Dad is going to come home for a day for the tournament…"

Silence engulfed the small hut. Chichi and the twins widened their eyes that their eyes almost fell from its sockets. It was Chichi who broke the silence.

"What? Goku's coming back for the tournament? Why didn't you tell me that sooner?" Chichi ecstatically screamed.

Meanwhile, Goten was leaning closer to Tenten and said, "Tenten, Dad is dead… right?"

"Mm-hmm," Tenten mumbled as she reluctantly nodded.

"Then… how is he going to 'come back'? Is he going to be a…" Goten gulped, "zombie? Or vampire?"

"I… don't know, Goten," she responded.

"Goten, Tenten! Ain't that great? You get to see your Daddy for a day!" Chichi said as she patted the two, "Wait! The dead don't age, do they? And I've gotten so old. Oh no! Why didn't I go to more spas? How many years has it been? Seven?" Chichi rambled while the twins still watched their mother with bewilderment.

"Uhm… Mom, could I enter the tournament too? The winner gets 10 million zeni, second gets 5 million…" Gohan trailed off.

"10 million zeni? Gohan, you _gotta_ enter this thing! That's 15 million zeni between you and your dad!"

"B-but we don't have any guarantee that—"

"Oh shoo! One of you is going to win for sure!"

"But I'll have to take time off school to train…"

"You better! You can catch up with your study later! It's a gift from heaven! My money from Dad is running out and I didn't know what to do!" Chichi rambled as Gohan rubbed his chest in relief.

"Daddy is… coming home…" Tenten said with a huge smile on her face. She didn't get how it happened but the thought of seeing someone she was longing for made her heart erupted with excitement. "We're going to see… Daddy…"

"You feel happy about it, Tenten?" Goten asked.

"Don't you?" She glanced at her twin.

"Hmm… I don't know," Goten shrugged, "I feel like seeing my future self whenever I saw Dad's photo, but we'll see."

"I'm excited," she said as she looked down on the doll she placed on her lap. "I can't wait to see you, Daddy…"

After finished with the dishes, the twins dashed into their room and played pillow fight in Gohan's room since the eldest offered them to sleep in his room. Gohan entered the room after he finished brushing his teeth, easily avoiding one of the pillows that glided across the room to his face.

"Hey, hey! Both of you! Let's go to sleep now!" he said as he turned off the light.

"Okay," they answered in unison as they plopped on the bed and spare a space in between them for Gohan. He positioned himself in the vacant space and let the twins rested their head on his shoulders.

"Brother, can you tell us more about Dad?" asked Goten.

"Sure. What do you want to know about him?"

"Uhmm… how many times had he save the earth?" asked Tenten.

"Let's see… So far he had saved the earth three times — King Piccolo, Freeza and Cell."

"P-Piccolo?" they asked in unison.

Gohan chuckled. "Well, that's the Piccolo before the one we knew now. Don't worry. As you can see, he's good now," he assured. Gohan skipped the part where Vegeta attacked the Earth with Nappa because he deemed it unnecessary now that Vegeta fought on their side, so he continued with their fight in planet Namek.

"Dad beat Freeza in planet Namek but unfortunately, Freeza survived. He along with his father then came to the earth to destroy the planet. Fortunately, we got friends that helped us save the planet."

"Who are these friends, Brother?" Tenten asked.

"Yeah, do we know them?" Goten asked with eyes glittered in curiosity.

Gohan rolled his eyes, uncertain to how he could tell the two about Tenten's future counterpart. "Well… you met them as babies. I'm very certain that you're going to meet them someday. Oh, and then we have Cell," Gohan quickly mentioned Cell to divert the twins attention.

"Wasn't he the green monster you defeated, Brother?" Goten said.

"Yes, I did. It wouldn't be possible without Dad's help and…" Gohan glanced at Tenten, recalling how she healed him at the very critical time, "… everyone. It wouldn't be possible without Vegeta's help too. The credit wasn't mine alone."

"Trunks must be proud to hear that about his daddy," Tenten said.

"Is Dad strong, Brother?" Goten asked.

Gohan proudly smiled and said, "The strongest in the universe. So you two must be proud of him."

The two smiled in satisfaction. Gohan could see the excitement in their eyes and he was certain if he told them more about their father, they wouldn't sleep until morning so he said, "Okay, go to sleep you two. I'm going to ask you two to help me train tomorrow."

Gohan lifted the blanket until it covered them three and watched the twins until they snoozed. After that, he watched the rooftop with a wide smile plastered on his face. "Dad, finally we're going to see you again…" he mumbled to himself.

* * *

That morning, both twins had dressed in their battle gi. Goten wore an orange gi that looked exactly the same with Goku's with long sleeve blue shirt inside while Tenten wore a pink Chinese-style sleeveless top with a purple band around her waist, sporting navy blue pants that reached her knees.

"I guess I'll start off as Super Saiyan," Gohan said as he changed into his Super Saiyan form.

Gohan asked the two to throw rocks at him from the line he had set to trained his agility — surprised when he underestimated Goten's strength when the younger boy destroyed a mountain just with a single throw. Before Goten could throw another, Gohan asked them to move to a farther range.

"Brother, do you think we could be like you?" Goten curiously asked as he pointed his finger at Gohan.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"That 'Super Saiyan' thing, Brother," Tenten said.

Gohan laughed at their naivety. "Someday you two will, but you're not ready yet. It takes an incredible amount of training and then it's triggered by rage—"

The change of air pressure startled Gohan as Goten turned himself into a Super Saiyan.

"Y-y-you… how?"

"Tenten can do it as well," Goten said.

"Tenten too—"

His eyes widened even larger when he saw his sister turned into one as well.

"B-both of you… since when?"

Goten glanced at Tenten and the girl just shrugged in response. "We forgot."

"I can't believe it. Dad and I worked so hard to become Super Saiyan and you two…" he shook his head in amazement. "So… does Mom know you can turn into Super Saiyan?"

"Yes, she was screaming when she saw us, calling us punk heads," Tenten said. Gohan sheepishly laughed at this, knowing that his mother never liked Super Saiyan since the beginning. "Okay, this is a big change for a Saiyan like us, so I must congratulate you two for making it this far," he said as he ruffled the two's hairs.

"Is it really a big thing?" Tenten asked.

"Yes. Most of our ancestors don't even make it to this stage so I admire you two for being able to do it so easily," he said. "Now, let me test your power. Both of you, don't go easy on me!"

Both Goten and Tenten smirked as they charged at their brother. Goten was stronger but Tenten was faster — it was hard for him to avoid their attack altogether. They managed to corner him to the cliff that he finally flew skywards, expecting his siblings to follow.

However…

"Brother! That's not fair!" Tenten screamed.

"Yeah! Come down here! You're cheating!" Goten added.

"W-wait! You can turn into Super Saiyan but you can't fly?" Gohan asked. They nodded in unison. "Whatever happened to do things in order?" he mumbled to himself.

Before Gohan could descend to the ground, he saw a plane passed him by. Judging from the plane model, it must be Videl. Gohan smacked his face — recalling that he would have to teach another person to fly so he landed and told the twins that his friend was coming so he forbade them to turn into Super Saiyan in front of her.

Upon reaching their house, Gohan paled when he saw Videl argued with Chichi. His mother went as far as accusing her attempt to snag Gohan so he quickly intervened and introduced Videl to Chichi. After that, he called the twins.

"Videl, let me introduce you to the twins. This is Goten and Tenten. You two, this is Videl. Come and say hi," Gohan said.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Videl," they said as they bowed their heads.

"Wow, Gohan. You never told me that you have twin siblings. They're so cute!"

"Are you my brother's girlfriend?" Goten bluntly asked.

"G-Goten! What are you talking about! She's a friend!" Gohan shouted, face uncontrollably turned red.

"Tenten, I didn't say it wrong, right? She's a girlfriend, right?" Goten asked with eyebrows knitted into a bewildered frown.

"Yeah, Goten. She's _a girlfriend_ ," Tenten nonchalantly replied.

Videl covered her mouth with her palm as she giggled, amused by how Gohan was pestered by his siblings that he got all red.

Gohan spent half of the day introducing the concept of Ki to Videl. She was surprised, especially when Goten blasted his energy to destroy a big boulder. No matter how foreign the concept was to her, Videl still obediently followed Gohan's instruction while the twins were training on their own.

"Listen, kids. I think Videl's training will require more time so I'm going to tell you how to fly, _theoretically_ …" Gohan said.

" _Theater_? What do you mean, Brother?" Goten asked.

Tenten deeply sighed and said, "So, how to do it, Brother?"

"Hey—"

"I'll explain to you later, Goten. Let Brother explain first!" she sharply cut him.

"Okay, it's all about manipulating the Ki flow within your body. If you concentrate your Ki to your hand to do Kamehameha, then you do the same to your feet. You got it so far?"

Tenten nodded. "Yeah. Why we never thought about that before?"

"That sounds easy. Let's do it, Tenten!" Goten ecstatically said as he pulled Tenten away, ignoring Tenten's string of protests.

"Good luck, kids!" Gohan said as he waved his hand to them.

It didn't take the twins long until they manage to float. Seeing Tenten float higher than him, Goten forced his Ki to his butt so he was floating with his butt. Tenten cracked by the amusing sight and lost her concentration so she fell flat to the ground. After that, they were competing to see who floated higher and an hour later, the two birds were freely roaming the sky.

"Goten! We did it! We did it!" Tenten was ecstatically screaming, smiling wider when the cold wind hit her face.

"Whee! We did it, Tenten! Look at me Brother! Look at me!" Goten shouted as he flew past Gohan and Videl who waved their hands at them.

The ability to defy the gravity was overwhelming that Tenten felt grinned wider. The wide space in the sky seemed like a home for her. She saw the cloud passed by and flew higher until she penetrated through it. She glanced at the limitless sky and wondered if she was closer to her father now that she was able to fly. Goten poked her and challenged her to see who flew faster so Tenten accepted it.

The mirthful laughter that roamed the sky alerted Chichi that she immediately stormed her way out from the house. The mother couldn't hide her proud smile when she witnessed her twins chasing one after another in the sky.

"Goku, can you see that our little birds flying now?"

* * *

 _AN: I'm so sorry for the delayed update! I'm busy with my original story that I forgot to update my fanfics! So, I'm leaning into Wattpad now and if you have an account there, please follow me in chicken-ranger._

 _Also, I'm unashamedly going to ask for your help to vote for 'Of Space, Sky and Time' in the annual DBZ Watty Awards! I put the detail on my conversation page so if you love the story, please support me with your kind vote. Thank you so much~_


End file.
